Balance
by reddreaming
Summary: Water and fire; earth and air - each element has a balance. Short-tempered, untrusting, and cool, Aya is the perfect balance to her best friend, Aang. Now free from her Spirit World imprisonment for the past century, Aya must assist Aang in his struggles against the Fire Nation.
1. Prologue

Lightning flashed, followed closely by the boom of thunder. Aya sat on her bed, watching the rain pelt the ground below. The wind coming in from her open window pushed her hair from her grey eyes, and Aya smiled, loving the adrenaline that came from something as simple as hearing thunder crackling.

Aya tore her eyes away from the dark window at the sound of a knock on her door. Who would need her so late? Before she could get up, the door opened itself. Monk Gyatso stood in her doorway, eyes wide with terror, something Aya had never seen before - he had always been calm, composed.

"Aya, its Aang!" Gyatso said before she had the chance to greet him. "He is gone."

Aya felt as if someone had taken the air from her lungs. "Gone?" She choked out, heart pounding in her ears. Her best friend - why did he leave her? Leave Gyatso? Everyone he'd ever known?

"Yes, he overheard the monks discussing sending him away earlier today and now he's ran away!"

"We have to find him." Aya whispered, picking up her staff from where it laid on the floor, opening it and staring outside into the storm. She could withstand the rain for Aang - she would do anything for her best friend.

"Aya, no!" Gyatso cried, reaching out for her, but his voice died in the wind as she jumped from the window and into the stormy night.

She could barely see through the rain, but she kept going and going and going until the dark night dawned to a cloudy morning and still, Aya found no sign of her friend over the choppy ocean. Sighing and blinking tears from her eyes, she landed on a small island and closed her glider. The sea around her was vast and slowly, Aya fell to her knees and began to sob hopelessly. She was exhausted, tired, and terrified and the only thing that appealed to her was sleep.

So she did, only instead of the slow relaxation sleep usually brings, Aya's world turned black almost instantly and her body hit the sand, unconscious.

When Aya opened her eyes, it was neither day nor night and she was not in the same place she fell asleep. The sky was plain grey, but filled with twinkling stars and a moon in the west, sun in the east.

She stood in still, shallow water, so shallow she could see the sand and rocks below the surface and the tiny sea creatures that crawled over them. She took a moment to admire a hermit crab scuttling over a rock by her feet. It reminded her of the ones that resided near the beaches back at the Southern Air Temple.

Aya didn't usually talk to herself, and she laughed at Aang when he talked to the lemurs that scampered around the temples, but something in her seemed to change as she reached down into the water, letting the hermit crab climb onto her hand.

She knew it wouldn't reply, but talking to an animal rather than the air seemed less silly. "Where are we?"

Suddenly, the clear, clean air turned foggy and humid and a figure swirled to life in front of her: an older man wearing the traditional clothing and topknot of the Fire Nation. The fog man stared at Aya for a moment before speaking.

"I am Avatar Roku, and you are in the Spirit World." Aya stared at him blankly and looked around in wonder. She'd heard stories of this place from the monks, but no words could capture its beauty.

Aya bowed to him. "Why am I in the Spirit World, Avatar Roku?"

"Avatar Aang is in trouble."

Aya quickly became frustrated. "I know that! That's why I came after him, to find him and bring him back to the Temple! They can't take him away!"

"Do not worry, young airbender. I can see you are troubled, but you must stay in the Spirit World. Aang has put himself in a position I cannot get him out of. Your destinies are intertwined, and until Aang is ready to face the world you must stay here, where you will not age. You will be able to leave when Aang is ready. If you leave, you will die long before Aang returns. You balance him."

"Balance him?" Aya repeated, confused.

Roku smiled at the fourteen year old. "Look at your bracelets, Ayana." She touched the four silver chains that never left her wrist. Each bracelet had the symbol of a different element engraved. "You have one for each element. The elements balance each other. Fire is life, destructive, burning. Water is cool, collective, and calming. They are balanced. Air is freedom and limitless. Earth is disciplined and grounded. They are also balanced. Aang is filled with childish wonder, curiosity, and extraversion. You are cool, determined, detached, introverted, and you hold all the traits Aang does not. You balance like earth balances air and water balances fire."

"But I'm just as childish and curious as Aang is. I'm not detached or introverted or anything you said!"

"It will come with time, Ayana. Do not worry, the Spirit World is a beautiful place and I'm sure you will enjoy it here."

Aya's eyes flashed dangerously. "And if I don't want to stay?"

But the fog was clearing, and Roku was gone moments later. Aya held up the hand the hermit crab rested on, and it seemed to stare at her in the same way Roku had. "I guess I'm stuck here, huh?" She mumbled, sighing and walking out of the river.

She already hated it here.

Time was hard to tell in the spirit world. The sun, moon, and stars were eternally out and Aya never got tired enough for sleep like she normally would. She couldn't decide if it had been days or weeks or months or even years but Roku never returned, which was okay. She didn't expect him to.

Aya slowly became bitter. Of course, the Spirit World was beautiful. There were so many different and exciting places to explore - her favorite being a tall mountain that reminded her of the mountains the air temples were built on. She would hop from place to place, sometimes speaking to friendly spirits.

Once, she came across a spirit who told her bending wouldn't work in the Spirit World, which was strange because Aya's worked just fine. The spirit said it was because she was forced here instead of coming by meditation or portal.

It was another day - or maybe night, Aya couldn't tell - when the vision came. A boy, maybe a little older than she, and a girl around her age standing with a very familiar looking kid dressed in the same red and yellow clothes Aya had on. Then the image faded and Aya waited - Roku did say that she could leave as soon as Aang was ready. Didn't this mean he was ready? Nothing happened.

The visions kept coming: Aang with the two others, in different locations at a time. They would only last a few moments, but that was enough for Aya. She became hopeful.

Finally, finally, there was one vision while Aya stood by the river she first came to the Spirit World in. Aang was meditating in front of a pond with two fish swimming in it. The image faded, but Aang did not. Aya blinked, and he did not disappear, only stared directly into her eyes - then, she heard his voice for the first time in what felt like decades.

"Aya?"

"Aang?"

"What are you doing here?" They asked in sync, then burst out laughing. It felt wonderful to laugh.

Aang explained about the crisis at the North Pole, and Aya told him about her imprisonment. But something was wrong - why was the Fire Nation attacking the Northern Tribe? Aya had friends who lived there...where were they? Exactly how long had she been in the Spirit World? Questions began to swirl around her mind, but her words came out stuttered and confused. She searched for the first question to ask.

"Aang, why -"

"There's no time!" Aang interrupted her. "I need to find the Ocean and Moon spirits, and then I'll explain."

"I can show you where Koh is; he knows where they are. But you must not show any facial expression at all - or he will steal your face." Aya warned, turning to lead Aang up the river to Koh's tree. But Aang reached forward and grabbed her arm before she could start walking, and he hugged her. She relaxed into his arms and they stood like that for a long time until Aya pulled away and smiled at him.

They walked in silence along the riverbank until Aya pointed to the tree Koh resided in. "I can't come with you. Good luck." Aang nodded, and Aya waited. It was nothing compared to the long time she waited to Aang to get himself out of his predicament, whatever it had been.

Aya let out a breath when Aang exited the tree with his face intact.

"I know what I have to do, and I have to go. Thank you, Aya." Then he looked her directly in the eyes. He looked the same as he did the day he ran away. "I will find a way to free you from the Spirit World. I promise."

**Note:**

**This is my first fic on this website and for this fandom. I'm open to constructive criticism - I'm not perfect. If there's anything that seems wrong/off/could be better, please let me know and if you read this, thank you! :)**


	2. My Best Friend Kind Of Saves Me

Note: Thank you so much to the guest who pointed out my error - I realized that it was really vague the way I'd written it so I added a couple sentences. Basically, Aya knows the fire nation is attacking the North Pole, but she doesn't know about the state of the world so she's confused as to why. Aang is in a hurry, so he said he'd tell her when he gets her out of the spirit world - which he will do sometime soon. Sorry that was unclear; I got kinda lazy toward the end!

Also, it was intentional for the prologue (sorry if it didn't say prologue anywhere on the last chapter, I'm still figuring out how to work this site lol) to be in 3rd person and everything else in 1st.

* * *

1: My Best Friend Kind Of Saves Me

I've never paid attention to time in the Spirit World. There are no clocks, no setting sun or rising moon to guide me through days, and I never sleep. But a little while after Aang left, I became more aware. How long had I been here? How long had Aang been in his 'predicament', as Roku called it?

The frequent visions of Aang and his friends stop for what felt like a day or two - but I'm still unsure how long it had been since my best friend's promise. I trust Aang.

But there was one that comes and lasts longer than only a moment. The image takes up all the space in front of me so that it feels as if I could reach out and touch the people in front of me.

Aang's dark haired female friend is waist-deep in the earth, surrounded by soldiers on ostrich horses and rocks. A middle aged man dressed in an Earth Kingdom-style uniform stands in front of her, hand held out; Aang watches, wide-eyed, as the girl dressed in blue sinks further into the ground.

Aang sprints forward, grabbing the man by the arm, shouting, "Stop this! You have to let her go!"

"You could save her if you were in the Avatar State," He replies forcefully.

Tears begin to form in Aang's eyes. "I'm trying!"

The girl sinks into the ground further, shouting in alarm as Aang fell to his knees. "You don't need to do this!"

He pushes his hand together and the earth closes over Aang's friend's head. "Apparently, I do."

Aang rushes forward, hands reaching for her but she is already under and his hands grasp empty air. Suddenly, the wind picks up and Aang's eyes and tattoos begin to glow as he bends the air forcefully toward the man.

The vision fades and I stumble back, breathing heavily. Was that happening right now? I've never seen Aang become so angry - he is the most peaceful, carefree, happy person in the world and there he was, going into the Avatar State because he was furious.

I sigh and lay back on the dirt beneath me, watching the eternally twinkling stars above. Unlike the real world, the stars here never shift so the stars I stare up at are the same ones from however long ago it was when I was trapped here. They're beautiful, but I'm sick of the stars.

Standing, I pace impatiently. Patience always came easily to me, but lately I had been feeling more and more short-tempered and irritated. I'm mid-step when the ground shakes, the stars fading from the sky, and the ever-still river becomes choppy and disturbed. Instinctively, my hands go up into a defensive position, but the only thing that arrives is fog - the same fog that arrived with Roku all that time ago. I wait.

I expect Aang to appear from the clouds, but instead it is Roku. His eyes glow as if he is in the Avatar State, and when he speaks it sounds as if there are a million people saying the same words behind him.

"Explain." I hiss, feeling heat in my cheeks and wind build up behind me. All this time in the Spirit World, my fury had only built and built and built and now here Roku is, standing in front of me.

"I will leave that to the present Avatar." He states, still speaking with a thousand voices. "Now, it is time."

Roku reaches forward and touches one hand to my forehead, the other to my chest. Suddenly I can't breathe and there is a painful tug on my torso as Roku and the Spirit World dissipate around me and everything goes dark.

* * *

Darkness. I can hear and feel fine, but even when I sit up in alarm the world is still black. My hands skim the ground below, squishing a few grains of sand; the sound of crashing waves resonates nearby. Brushing the sand from my hands, I reach up to my eyes. They're closed, almost glued shut with grains of sand that had accumulated over time. Slowly but surely, I peel my eyelids apart until I can blink and move them with ease.

It is bright. It takes a moment, two, for my eyes to adjust, but after a little while I make out the overgrown trees to my left, ocean to my right, sand below me. I breathe out and laugh in relief when I see the sky: instead of the eternally bleak, star-dappled I'd grown used to; this one is clear blue with white clouds floating lazily by.

I try to stand, but stumble back and fall on my butt. Spots dance in front of my eyes, my muscles stiff and tense. How long have I been here? It can't have been that long, right? My closed glider rests beside me, a few bugs crawling over it. I brush them off and use my staff to help me stand; even then, I have to inhale slowly to calm my racing, tired heart.

Sand pours off my red and orange tunic when I brush it off. I stretch out, loosening my stiff muscles and cracking my joints. Finally, I can move freely without feeling dizzy, and I open my glider. The air rushes up around me as I take off and fly. The ocean seems to stretch forever, but I won't stop until I reach land - I am done waiting.

I look a long time.

* * *

I land in the outskirts of what looks to be an Earth Kingdom town, quickly closing my glider and walking through the woods. The city that slowly comes into view the further I walk is small, quaint. Maybe someone there knows where Aang is - all I have to do is ask if someone has spotted the Avatar recently. Shouldn't be too hard.

"Excuse me?" I ask an older shopkeeper who stands in front of a stand of produce.

She smiles. "Can I help you, child?"

I'm so close to saying, 'I am not a child' that I taste the words, but I swallow them and instead ask, "What is the name of this city?"

She looks confused, as if I should know. "You're in Xiao," She states. "You're not from around here, are you, child?"

I chew the inside of my cheek, irritated. "No." I reply shortly. "One more thing, has the Avatar been seen anywhere recently?"

The shopkeeper's eyebrows scrunch before her eyes narrow. "Word is he's traveling to Ba Sing Se. Why are you so curious, girl?"

"Thank you," I ignore her question and turn away, mind going into overdrive.

I've never left the Southern Air Temple - where even is Xiao? - , I have no money, no way of transportation other than my glider, I don't know what year it even was, Aang seems farther away than ever and I am terrified.

But I start walking anyway.

* * *

**Note 2: Sorry this was boring/a filler but it'll pick up soon! In case you're wondering, Aya is somewhere in the southwest earth kingdom on the coast and she has no idea where she is so it should get interesting later. Thank you for reading!**


	3. I Throw My Morals Out The Window

2: I Throw My Morals Out The Window

When I was little, the monks taught me how all life is sacred, how honesty is the key to a good life; how your intentions should be displayed clearly before you do something. Obviously, these teachings had lost their emphasis with time as I soon find myself staring hungrily at a stand filled with meat in a town north of Xiao that I haven't bothered to learn the name of. I hadn't eaten for however long I'd been trapped in the Spirit World - food was unnecessary and I highly doubt my unconscious body had digested anything while my soul was absent.

Starvation had begun to set in a while back, and it wasn't normal hunger; instead of normal slightly irritating if not easy to ignore growls emanating from my stomach, I felt hollow, as if someone had taken a chisel to my torso and whittled away at my insides until nothing was left.

I had no money, so if I was to get any form of food - or clothes, for that matter, as I needed new ones - I would have to steal. And this town didn't seem very vegetarian-friendly, so meat it was. I had never stolen anything in my life (except maybe Aang's glider jokingly), but this only sends sparks of adrenaline through my veins. Toward the end of the row of shops and stalls stands one that displays various types of Earth Kingdom fashion, and I opt for there first. It should be much easier to conceal food in the clothes...but of course, there is the matter of taking the clothes first. The front of my orange tunic is slightly baggy on me, so perhaps I can conceal something in there? I decide to cross that bridge as I come to it.

As I near the stand, I take in every detail that could possibly help me. The owner is a tired-looking middle aged man who looks as if he could fall asleep at any moment. He pays no attention, simply stares forward as I to rifle through the clothes that vary in all shades of greens and browns and in silky to rough fabrics that feel like sandpaper.

I single out a semi-loose fitting green tunic paired with tight brown pants and simple brown shoes, but one look told me there was no way I could sneakily take this. Sure, airbending makes me light on my feet, but it's hard to miss a girl clad in bright yellow with a bunch of fabric stuffed down her clothes.

My eyes search for a solution, landing first on the unsuspecting shopkeeper then on a plain brown bag behind his chair. Airbending is my friend as I lean forward, using the winds to keep my footsteps nonexistent. Quickly, I snatch it and push my chosen clothes into it, looking around to make sure no one saw. I'm clear.

It's not until I'm halfway down the road toward where I'd first seen the food when it occurs to me that maybe this bag wasn't for sale; maybe it was the shopkeeper's own. My fingers reach down into the bag, pushing past the fabric of my clothes until I feel the cool sensation of coins.

I know I should feel guilty, but I only smirk and continue walking, intending to steal the meat even though I now have enough money to buy it. There is something exhilarating about taking what's not mine, and I like it.

* * *

I wait until I am out of the town and in the forest nearby it to strip my Air Nomad clothes off and replace them with the Earth Kingdom ones, feeling much more relaxed now that I blend in with the forest and foliage around me. My nerves settled after stealing both clothes and food successfully, and eating enough to last me through the next day. Meat is wonderful, and I wonder why I've never tried it before; I suppose I was only vegetarian because it wasn't like there was any meat available in the temples. Past beliefs aside, I'm comfortable now.

The hair in the Earth Kingdom also differs from that of the Air Nomads'. My hair currently is pushed back, away from my forehead and tired up with a ribbon. But the women in the past few villages wore theirs in their eyes, or braided. So I untie my sleek, dark hair from the ribbon and let it fall into my eyes. The front part, which is much shorter than the rest, hangs in my face as I braid the longer part and let it fall down my back.

If I had my airbender tattoos, the hair over my forehead and eyes would be an excellent disguise, but seeing as I lack the traditional blue arrows crisscrossing over my body, the tool is lost.

I continue to travel in disguise, and time becomes more tangible - it's clear that much more time than I'd thought had passed while I resided in the Spirit World. Wary of asking any random passerby about the war for fear of raising suspicion, I decide to wait until I meet with Aang to question him about everything.

Checking a map I acquired (stole) from a town awhile back; I realize I have to cross something called the Serpent's Pass before I reach Ba Sing Se, assuming Aang is there or on his way.

The Serpent's Pass, I discover, is not named for its skinny pathway through the water. It isn't named for the winding roads, either. No, of course it isn't; just my luck, I get to discover why the Serpent's Pass is named so when I take a wrong step and fall face first with a splash in the water. I wasn't paying attention to the ground in front of me, but instead staring out at the vast, beautiful water to the east and west.

Instantly, I airbend myself out of the water and open my glider to fly over the break in the path, but a shadow passes over the sun and a green tendril shoots out of the water to swat me out of the air effortlessly. My glider twirls through my fingers to create a breeze big enough to stop me from crashing into the water yet again and I clumsily land on the other side of the broken path. The serpent dives forward as if to catch me in between its teeth, but I scream involuntarily and turn. Mind going into overdrive, my legs move of their own accord up the pass until I've put enough distance between myself and that thing. I don't even care that my clothes are soaking, hair dripping down my face.

Using the air around me to dry off, I open my glider to fly over the rest of the pass. My feet already ache from sprinting that short distance, and I have to conserve my walking energy. If I fly in Ba Sing Se, I could arise suspicion; if the Fire Nation has attacked, who knows what other crazy things could be happening? I have to play it safe.

Finally, in the distance a gigantic tan wall rises up from the ground; but I don't land. Instead, I fly over the wall, high enough so as not to raise suspicion from the guards. I really don't want to deal with them.

But I falter and almost fall out of the sky when I see it: a huge metal drill, a quarter of the way pushed into the bottom of the wall. Displayed on the top is the insignia of the Fire Nation. Swallowing the bile that rises in my throat, I keep going over the wall until I land in the Middle Ring, according to my map.

Its twilight, so not many people are milling about when I land - good. The less people who see me airbend, the better. I can't pin it down, but my instincts tell me I shouldn't draw attention to myself in any way.

I assume Aang is already here, but I don't want to spend all night looking for him. The city is enormous and I have no time to search the entire Upper and Lower Rings for him and his friends. But the man I'd stolen the bag from a week or so ago had a decent amount of money, despite living in a ramshackle town such as his.

I decide to first find something to satisfy my profusely rumbling stomach before figuring out where I will spend the night.

Further down the road, past a cluster of houses and open-air food stalls, I discover a row of shops that sell everything from clothes to trinkets to beautiful pieces of art like ornate vases and paintings. One of the signs outside a small building to my left displays that they sell tea, so I step through the already opened door, slipping silently into a seat by the door, just in case I need to leave quickly. One of the advantages of being an airbender is being light on my feet, so no one really hears my footsteps as I walk in - the only sound I make is the squeak of the chair on the floor when I pull it out from under the table.

A young woman with her hair pulled back in a plait greets me with a smile, telling me she recommends the manager's special, whatever that is. I decide to get it. She comes back in a few minutes with a cup of steaming tea and a plate of an unknown meat. Over the past few weeks, I've learned not to question what exactly food is, so long as it's food.

"Thank you," I tell her, and she nods before walking away. I eat in silence for a few moments, not really paying attention to anything. My body rhythmically lifts the cup, the food to my mouth and I find myself staring absently at a particularly grimy patch of dirt on the wall next to me.

I snap back into focus at the sound of the chair across from me being dragged out from underneath the table. A boy, somewhere around my age, sidles into the seat and clasps his hands together. He stares at me for a moment with striking golden eyes until I set down my tea.

"What?" I raise my eyebrows. He doesn't look dangerous, but I'm not taking any chances. Another thing I've learned: everyone is an enemy until proven otherwise. Plus the stupid smirk on his face makes me want to reach forward and smack it off.

"Just trying to figure out why someone like you's sitting all by herself." He leans forward slightly, saying it conversationally. My hand drifts toward my pocket, fingers itching for the dagger I acquired a few towns before crossing the Serpent's Pass.

"Someone like me?" I ask, my tone icy.

He nods, staring at me as if I should understand. "You know, young, dangerous-looking...pret -"

"Do not finish that word."

"Pretty interesting?"

"How do I look dangerous?"

He takes a moment to think about it. "You looked like you wanted to kill someone when you were staring at that wall."

"Fair enough." A while ago, I would've been punished for even mentioning the word kill, but now I choose to push down the Air Nomad nature bubbling up inside.

"I'm Taro." He introduces himself, unclasping his hands and offering one to me. I stare at it for a moment before taking it.

"Aya." I reply, but my left hand stays resting on the pocket where my knife lays; this doesn't go unnoticed by Taro.

His mouth quirks in a lopsided grin. "Suspicious?"

"You bet."

"But really, what _are_ you doing all by yourself? The city's pretty dangerous..."

My eyes go steely. "I just got here, but I can handle myself, thank you."

"I never said you couldn't, Aya."

I don't know how to reply to this, so I continue eating and taking periodic sips of tea until my plate is cleared and the only liquid left in my cup is the dregs of my drink. When the woman comes to pick up my plate, I hand her a few gold coins before she goes back.

Taro speaks again as I stand, pushing my chair back in. "Where're you staying, Aya? I'll walk you there." I hate how he uses my name in conversation so much - it's just us, who else would he be referring to?

"First off, this isn't a date -"

"I never said it was."

"So you don't have to walk me home. Second, I still don't know where I'm staying but I'll figure it out. Nice meeting you."

I try to turn the other way, but Taro steps in front of me. "Places to stay here are kinda expensive, and you look a little young to have enough money for somewhere. Why don't you stay with me? I have an extra -"

"No. I literally met you like twenty minutes ago. I can find it myself. Goodb -" Taro interrupts me again.

"Aya, stop being stubborn. I'm trying to help you."

"I don't need it."

He grabs my arm, and I whirl around to face him. "Don't touch me, either."

"Hey, before you go..." Taro pauses, mulling over the words he's about to say. "I have one question. If you just got here, why are you already in the Middle Ring? New arrivals usually start in the Lower."

I suddenly regret telling him I'd only recently arrived in Ba Sing Se. Pursing my lips, I sigh. "If I go with you, can I refuse to answer that question?"

Taro nods.

"Alright, let's go."

* * *

I sleep with Taro's spare bedroom door locked, my fingers just brushing the dagger under my pillow. Just in case.

* * *

I wanted to skip all the filler episodes bc I'm sick of there being an excellent OC and during the filler chapter (s)he is just randomly stuck in with a few lines here and there to make their presence known. So while Aya is traveling, the Gaang has arrived in Ba Sing Se a few days before. Just thought I'd clear that up.

If there are any continuity errors or something that is unclear/doesn't make sense, please let me know! Sorry, one more thing but I noticed I'd skipped from past tense in chapter one to present by this chapter so I'm going to go back later tonight and change it all to present, sorry about that.


	4. A Gigantic Bison Takes Priority Over Me

3: A Gigantic Bison Takes Priority Over Me

"Alright, so what exactly is up with this city?"

Those are the first words out of my mouth when I return from my walk around the middle ring. I woke at sunrise, dressed silently, and slipped out of Taro's home, looping around the ring until I came back to where I started.

Taro's reply comes out in a horrible tone of fake confusion that I see through instantly. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean," I pause to roll my eyes. "What's up with the creepy Dai Li? And what's about the Fire Nation? A...friend told me something was wrong, but I've been pretty out of the loop for a while..." I trail off, absently staring out the window.

"Uh, the Dai Li protect the cultural heritage of Ba Sing Se. And nothing's 'up' with the Fire Nation, why would you ask that?" Taro stiffened, not meeting my eyes and instead finding his shoes particularly interesting.

My eyes narrow, standing from my place leaning against the blank wall by the front door. "Don't give me that textbook, sugarcoated answer. Before you lie to me, you might want to practice, Sweaty." I give him a once-over, taking in his jittery hands and moist brow.

Determined to find both Aang as well as the truth, I shake my head at the stuttering Taro and walk outside again, slamming the door shut. I exhale and lean against the side of my newfound friend's home, closing my eyes and letting the warm sun wash over me. A small wind blows my hair into my face, tickling my cheeks; I wish more than anything to be able to bend the air as easily as the breezes but that nagging feeling of doubt and suspicion is still present in my stomach.

My eyes snap open at a strange rustling noise. Bunches of paper float down from above, settling gently on the ground all along the street. One lands face down in front of me; out of sheer curiosity, I pick it up, heart racing as I read the words printed neatly under a picture that sends my blood rushing.

Appa. There's no mistaking the enormous flying bison with the arrow curving over his forehead. Of course, there are tons of sky bison that look strikingly similar, but my guess is confirmed as I scan the text underneath. Appa is missing - any information is to be reported to the Avatar. Underneath is the location of Aang's dwelling in the Upper Ring.

"Upper Ring," I snort quietly to no one in particular. "How pretentious."

* * *

Trains run freely between the Rings, so getting from the Middle to the Upper isn't difficult at all. I don't tell Taro where I'm going; why should he care? He doesn't need to babysit me. I can handle myself.

I step off the train, onto the Upper Ring platform, noting the subtle differences between the Middle and Lower already.

Although I'm not entirely sure how to navigate this part of the city - the Middle Ring is still a bit of a mystery to me - I trudge on. It goes in a circle, how hard could it be?

But it proves harder than I imagined. I find myself aimlessly wandering the rows of buildings, searching for the one with a number that matches the one on the poster.

"Hello there!" A voice comes from my right. My hand instinctively shoots toward my pocket, but it drops when I see the voice's owner. She's dressed in a long, tan robe and green scarf, creepy smile overtaking her entire face. "It's a beautiful day, isn't it?" She asks conversationally, that fake grin never leaving for a second.

"I - uh, yeah. I guess it is." I stammer, taken aback by her forwardness and wide smile.

"I'm Joo Dee. You look a little lost. Could I assist you in any way?"

Despite the ever-present grin, she seems harmless other than to help and guide.

"I'm looking for my friend." I say cautiously. "His name is Aang."

If she's surprised, it doesn't show as her expression doesn't falter. By now, I can't look her in the eyes – her garish grin is unsettling.

"Excellent, I am going to visit the Avatar as well! I will show you the way, Aya. Follow me."

My heart freezes and my feet nearly trip over themselves. I choke out an apology to Joo Dee's cry of worry to my stumbled footsteps. Something is wrong - very, very wrong. It shouldn't bother me this much, but it does: I never told Joo Dee my name.

* * *

One hand on my staff, the other in my pocket, just brushing my dagger, I stand behind Joo Dee when she knocks gently on what I presume to be Aang's door. For our entire walk here, I've stood to the right of the creepy guide just in case I need to protect myself. This way, my stronger side is closest to her, a good advantage considering my left handedness.

The door slides open, revealing a young boy with a blue tattoo crowning his head. "Joo Dee?" He asks, confused. I stand directly behind Joo Dee, so Aang can't see and she can tell him what she needs to before I interrupt.

"Hello Aang, and Katara, and Sokka, and Toph." She says, stepping over the threshold and into the house. I remain outside on the porch, unseen and silent. Besides, the four are too focused on her to think about glancing behind her.

Aang's three friends move forward, and a boy dressed in blue asks, "What happened to you? Did the Dai Li throw you in jail?"

I miss Joo Dee's reply, as well as the rest of the conversation until Aang slams the door shut in his host's face. I knew I wasn't the only one suspicious of the Dai Li, only to be shut down by a resident of the city; there has to be something going on here, something deeper than 'protecting the cultural heritage of the city.'

Joo Dee blinks, shocked, moving back from the door. She forces the smile back onto her face before she leaves me standing by myself on the porch.

I raise my right hand, knocking twice. The door slides open again and Aang stands there, clearly still fuming from whatever Joo Dee told him. "I _told_ you, we're not going to -"

The Avatar stops himself short when it registers exactly who I am. "Aya?" He almost whispers in disbelief.

I don't know what I expect myself to say. Perhaps something nice after not seeing each other for who knows how long - maybe just silence and a hug would suffice. Instead, my words tumble out stupidly. "Hi,"

Aang blinks twice, then furrows his brow. "_Hi_? After not seeing you in almost 100 years, all you have to say is _hi_?"

I ignore the 100 years comment, assuming it's an exaggeration. "Yeah...hi. What am I supposed to say?"

"Uh, I don't know, maybe something a little more - you know what? Nevermind. Come in."

I step into the guest house and Aang drops his false frustration, replacing it with a genuine smile. "It's good to see you." He hugs me, and he's just as short as I remember.

He drops his arms from around my abdomen and steps into the semicircle of his friends.

"This is Katara, Sokka, and Toph." Aang points to each of them in turn; a tan-skinned pair of teenagers who look too alike to be unrelated, one with her hair pulled back into a braid and the other with icy blue eyes; a girl with cloudy green eyes who is the same height as Aang.

"I'm Ayana, but Aya is fine," I greet them shortly. As nice and interesting as they seem, I need an explanation from my airbender friend. "Now, Aang. I need you to explain to me, well...everything."

"Everything?" His grey eyes go wide. "Well, I was hoping we could look for Appa first. He's missing, as I assume you know..." He glances to the lost poster still clutched in my right hand.

"So a gigantic bison is taking priority over your very confused, strained, and tired best friend?"

"Uh, yes?" Aang phrases it more as a question, which I redirect.

"Uh, no." I mimic. "We'll look for Appa after, okay? I understand you're upset he's missing but I've waited for however long I was in the Spirit World for, plus the past few weeks it took me to get to Ba Sing Se."

"Hold up, you were in the Spirit World? Why?" Sokka stares at me as if I've suddenly sprouted horns.

"I'll explain if you do."

Aang sighs, fidgeting and not meeting my gaze. "Aya, maybe we should -"

"Should what?"

"Maybe we should wait a little bit. There's a lot of stuff for you to take in."

"I can handle it."

Aang exhales slowly again, dropping his staff and sinking to the floor in front of the table in the main room. I sit across from him; Toph to my left and the siblings to the right.

"You go first." Aang requests.

"Basically, I chased after you in that storm you ran away in all night and by the time it was light I was exhausted so I landed on a little island near where I was at the time. I thought I could sleep a little before I kept looking for you, but I fell unconscious instead. But rather than darkness, I ended up in the Spirit World. Roku told me that my personality balances yours and I need to be alive when you are and that you were in some situation he couldn't help you in and I had to wait there until you figured out whatever your issue was -" I inhale deeply after saying the last sentence in one breath. "- and then I got out sometime after you came in looking for Koh. I'm not sure how long; time is different in the Spirit World. And I traveled, and here I am."

"So you don't know how long you were there for? That must have been awful," Katara breathes, staring at me with pity.

"No, time isn't really tangible. The days just kind of faded together into one mess of time." I reply, twisting my fingers together nervously. There's silence for a moment. "Your turn." I inform Aang.

"You can't interrupt, okay?"

I nod, steeling my eyes and ridding my face of emotion. If it really is a lot of information to take in, I can't let it show. I have to be stoic, emotionless, determined no matter what. But part of me is shaking with nerves and my fingers tap the table anxiously as Aang begins to speak.

"When I ran away from the Air Temple in that storm, I didn't know you'd followed me. A giant wave nearly killed me and Appa. I went into the Avatar State to save us. But accidentally, I froze myself and Appa in a giant orb of ice. Next thing I know, Katara and Sokka are there, and I'm in the South Pole near their home. I was in that ice for 100 years." Aang pauses, seeing my shocked expression; I quickly mask it which is met with a suspicious glare from my best friend. "Anyway, the Fire Nation has attacked many places in the world, including all the Air Temples, North Pole, and some Earth Kingdom cities - I said don't interrupt me!" He stops himself short when I open my mouth. "The Fire Lord has been taking over cities for the last 100 years without me to help restore balance, and now I'm learning all the elements. Toph is my earthbending teacher and Katara is my waterbending teacher. Right now we're in Ba Sing Se to tell the Earth King about the Solar Eclipse, a day when firebenders are powerless because the moon blocks out the sun. The end for now, any questions?" Aang says the last part surprisingly fast.

"I knew something was up with the Fire Nation, but I...I - didn't think it would be this bad." I say breathlessly, before asking the question I tried to say in the midst of Aang's explanation. The war is surprisingly easy to stomach, but..."100 years? It's really been that long?"

Aang smiles, but it doesn't reach his downcast eyes. "Yeah, I know. It's weird..." He trails off.

"And you said the Fire Nation attacked some of the Air Temples? Is everything okay there? I came straight to the Earth Kingdom rather than the Temple because I was a little disoriented."

My best friend looks both distressed and frightened, and I'm in the middle of figuring out how that can be when he starts stuttering out, "They, uh...Aya, I think - I can't..."

"Spit it out!" I urge, quickly growing annoyed at him beating around the bush. "I can handle it." I repeat.

"After you and I left, a really powerful comet came that Fire Lord Sozin used to..." Aang suddenly stands, never breaking eye contact with me. He sounds irate and I'm not entirely sure why. "He used it to kill all the Air Nomads, okay? There are no more airbenders! Are you happy now that you know? We're the last two airbenders in existence!"

Is the ground falling out from under me? Am I still breathing? The room is spinning, but I blink rapidly until it straightens.

"Oh." I say indifferently.

Silence falls around the table and throughout the rest of the house until Katara stands, smiling at me gently. "Why don't I show you where you'll be sleeping? You look like you could use some rest." She acts like a mother even though she looks my age but I don't complain. Maybe I need a maternal figure right now.

Even though it's midday and I'm not tired, my head is whirling and I could use sleep. Katara opens the door to a room with the shades pulled over the window so it's pitch dark inside. I can faintly make out the outlines of two beds, one on either side of the room.

"The one on the right is all yours. We'll try to be quiet so you can rest, okay?"

"Thank you," I tell her, and she nods slightly before sliding the door shut, leaving me in complete darkness.

The floor slips out from under my feet as all air leaves my lungs. My fingers run through my hair until they're stuck in knots and tangles and I fall to my knees with a slight _bang_, panting short and stuttered. As much as I don't want to cry, tears unwillingly prickle at my eyes and escape, silently streaming down my cheeks and dripping onto the floor. A ragged, silent scream rips itself from my throat. It hurts all over, not my emotions but it feels like someone is peeling the skin from my body and tearing the organs from my abdomen.

I hate this, I hate feeling fragile and shattered and upset and I wish I could stand and wash my face before falling asleep but I can't move so I stay kneeled on the floor, arms wrapped around myself while tears drip onto the wood beneath me.

Behind me, the door slides open and light floods into the room before it disappears. For a moment, I think someone just came in to check on me but backed away when they saw my sobbing form on the floor until a hand gently touches my shoulder.

My eyes meet ones the same shade of grey as mine and I cringe away, not wanting Aang to see me crying and hyperventilating.

But he's noiseless as he reaches out to pull me into his arms. It occurs to me that he should've gone through something similar when he learned about the murder of our people. I don't ask.

We stay like that for a long time, until my knees start to hurt from pressing against the wooded floor for so long and I stand from his embrace, crawling into the bed on the right side of the room.

Aang sighs and light floods the room as he opens the door to leave; I'm left in utter silence and darkness.

And I fall asleep with tears still staining my cheeks.

* * *

**COMFORTING AANG IS SO CUTE TO ME AND IM NOT ENTIRELY SURE WHY HELP? Idk if I like this or not, writing Aya as really upset and needing comfort as she likes to solve her own problems and not really let anyone help her. Anyway, hopefully next chapter Aya will be back and more badass than ever!**

**So for a while today I worked out the kinks in my plot for the rest of Book 2 and I'm hoping to condense them into 5 or so chapters. I don't want this to be stretched out; I want it a little faster paced. I'm also trying to give Aya her own stuff to do cause as much as I love the Gaang's story, I don't want to just stick her in the already-written plot. I'm hoping to give Aya her own stuff to do, but there'll still be some canon scenes just so you know. :)**


	5. Katara Wants to Talk About Feelings

4: Katara Wants to Talk About Feelings

I wake with a start in an unfamiliar room. A moment passes before I completely remember where I am and why the blankets around me are twisted and strewn over my body haphazardly. The windows are covered, but light floods in through the now opened door - I realize the sudden brightness is what woke me.

Sokka stands in the doorway, glancing around nervously. "Aang just wanted me to tell you that we're going out to put up more lost Appa posters so if you were wondering where we are...yeah. We'll be back later, I guess."

I sit up straight, pushing my tangled hair out of my eyes. At first, no noise comes out of my mouth when I try to speak as an aftereffect of my breakdown earlier. Coughing, I say, "And you wanted to go without me?"

"I mean, yeah...you seemed tired." Sokka says weakly, scratching the back of his neck.

"I'm coming with you." I state firmly. He says nothing more and the door slams shut behind him.

Quickly ripping my fingers through my hair to get rid of the knots, I then tie it into my usual ponytail while letting the shorter part hang in my eyes like before.

There's no doubt that my eyes are red and puffy, so I discover the bathroom across the hall where a sink sits in front of a mirror. I stare at my forlorn form and crumpled clothes for a moment before I splash water into my eyes, effectively relieving them of their redness and swelling.

I step out and down the hallway, into the main room where I can hear Aang saying, "From now on, we do whatever it takes to find Appa."

Followed by Toph yelling, "Yeah! Let's break some rules!" And a loud crash of rocks smashing into each other.

When I enter the room, my eyes drift instantly to the gaping hole in the side of the house. "Um...what rules exactly are we breaking?"

Toph's raised arms fall and her expression turns to one of hopelessness. "Oh no," She moans overdramatically. "Another goody-goody. As if Katara wasn't enough!"

I respond with a sly smirk, even though I know Toph can't see it.

Ignoring the exchange between me and the earthbender, Aang looks worried as he studies my disheveled appearance. "Aya, are you sure you want to come?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I can handle it." I promise, reassuring my friend with a small smile.

They begin filling out the front door as I search the room for my glider before I remember it's still at Taro's. I make a mental note to visit him later tonight to collect the rest of my belongings and thank him for everything.

I fall into step beside Aang, double taking at my short best friend when I see the lemur lounging on his shoulder. My jaw drops involuntarily. "Aang, is that a lemur? Like, the ones..." I trail off as the animal stares at me with its oversized, glassy eyes and chitters excitedly.

"Sure is!" Aang grins cheerfully. "Aya, meet Momo. Momo, this is Aya. She's from the Air Temple, just like us!" He explains, as if the lemur could comprehend. Momo nods slightly at Aang and I rethink if he _could_ really understand.

We continue down the street in silence, stopping occasionally to put up a poster here and there - we don't post them heavily, as Aang said he flew over this road and dropped them earlier. Finally, I ask something that's been bothering me.

"Hey, Toph, if you're blind..." I pause, trying to put the words together in a tactful way; before I can continue she cuts me off.

"I see with earthbending. Each time I step, I send out vibrations through the earth. I can see everything, even the smallest ant at the end of this road." She explains simply, and I'm glad her blindness doesn't control her. She's only twelve and already learned how to figure out how to use the world to her advantage, even with sightlessness crippling her.

We reach a street that Aang doesn't recognize from flying over while dropping posters, so we get to work pasting sheets of paper to the walls of shops and alleys.

"We should split up to cover more area. Toph...I guess you should just come with me." Sokka decides, looking down to the smaller girl.

"Why?" Toph asks defiantly. "Because you think I can't put up posters on my own?!" She rips the paste from Sokka's hand, flinging it across the wall and then smacking a poster onto it, only instead of showing Appa's head and the informational text, the blank side faces up.

"It's upside down, isn't it?" Toph sighs in defeat. "I'll just go with Sokka."

Sokka and Toph turn to the right side of the street, Aang in a different direction, and I follow Katara to the left.

We glue posters to every open spot we can find in silence for a little, before Katara stops and turns to me even though I'm facing the opposite way.

"You know, Aang acted the same way you are when he first lost Appa. He acted like he didn't care, but he actually did. A lot more than he shows. I understand what you're -"

Whirling around to face the waterbender, I meet her eyes with an icy glare. "Look, princess. I know we just met so I should be nice to you, but I'm really not in the mood to share my feelings at the moment, especially to some girl who thinks she understands what I'm going through. Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not really one who likes to have heart-to-hearts in random Ba Sing Se streets."

I turn away, clenching my shoulders tightly. Appa can be found. Whatever it is that has made Katara 'understand' what I'm going through can be fixed. My entire nation? The only part of them that can be found is the ashes scattering the Air Temple floors.

Katara goes off in a different direction to keep putting up posters, leaving me seething silently. I can handle my emotions by myself. I don't need Aang's comfort, or Katara's understanding or anything these people can give me.

I'm ripped out of my thoughts by a cry of anger from Katara, followed by the sound of water crashing into itself. Whipping around, I'm met with the water tribe girl controlling gallons of water, facing a boy dressed in red and black armor with shaggy brunette hair hanging in his eyes.

She pushes the water toward him, forcing him back into an alleyway. Katara says something I can't make out before flinging sharp pieces of ice his way. I run to her side swiftly, hands raised in a defensive position.

"I don't want to fight you, I'm here to help!" The boy says, dropping his weapons which look like oddly shaped swords, hooked toward the end. He makes to grab something from his pocket, but in a second I decide any enemy of hers is not a friend of mine.

Using the air around us, I press him against the wall, keeping him there until Katara pins his shirtsleeves to the stone with ice. His eyes meet mine. "An airbender," He breathes.

Footsteps crescendo behind us.

"Katara, what is it?" Sokka asks, obviously having heard the fight before.

His sister doesn't face him, instead continuing to give the trapped boy a harsh glower. "Jet's back."

Right now isn't the time to ask who exactly 'Jet' is, so I vow to later.

"We can't trust anything he says!"

"But we don't even know why he's here," Sokka protests.

"I don't care why he's here!" Katara retorts. "Whatever the reason is, it can't be good."

"I'm here to help you find Appa." The boy - Jet - says, letting the paper clutched in his hand unfurl.

Beside me, Aang's shoulders relax. "Katara, we have to give him a chance."

I tune out the rest of the conversation, still mildly confused but not enough to actually ask.

"...I don't even have the gang anymore!" Jet finishes, looking wildly at us.

"You're lying." Katara accuses.

Toph pushes past Sokka and places her hand on the wall next to Jet, furrowing her brow. "He's not lying. I can feel his breathing and heartbeat. When people lie, there's a physical reaction. He's telling the truth."

Aang begs Katara to let him take us, and she grudgingly does. He leads us through the city until we reach an empty barn.

"So, who exactly was this guy? Your boyfriend?" I question Katara as we walk through the doors.

"I thought you weren't in the mood to talk about feelings, princess." Katara retorts, pushing past me to walk by herself in the front of our group.

Next to me, Aang stares at me with exasperation. "Did you guys argue about something _already_? Come on, Aya..."

I throw my hands up in defense. "I'm not the one who wanted to talk about _feelings_."

He just shakes his head hopelessly and follows the others into the barn. I, however, stay in the doorway, seeing as it's pretty obvious Appa isn't here and this Jet kid led us to the wrong place; it'd be a little hard to miss an animal as big as a sky bison in somewhere this small.

Inside, Aang picks up a clump of white fur and strokes it gently, looking heartbroken. I don't have to look too far in me to understand where he's coming from.

* * *

Outside, Sokka and Aang partially plan the journey.

"We can take the train out to the wall but then we'll have to walk." Sokka states.

"Don't worry, we'll be flying on the way back," Aang smiles, trying to reassure us.

Toph exhales in relief. "We're finally leaving Ba Sing Se - worst city ever!"

Behind us, footsteps echo out of a back alley. Two people catch up with us, calling Jet's name.

One is a girl, younger than me, with short hair and two red lines painted on either cheek; the other is a boy with a hat pulled over his hair and arrows strung over his back.

Katara stops walking, alarmed and furious. "I thought you said you didn't have your gang anymore."

"I don't," Jet turns and is met with a hug from the shorter girl.

"We were so worried! How did you get away from the Dai Li?"

"The Dai Li?" I ask, speaking for the first time since we found Jet. "You mean the creepy dudes who 'protect the cultural heritage of the city'?" I mock Joo Dee's informative, sugar-sweet tone.

"I don't know what she's talking about!" Jet cries, but the girl replies, "He got arrested by the Dai Li a couple weeks ago! We saw them take him."

"Why would I be arrested?" Jet protests, claiming he's been living peacefully.

Toph bends down on one knee, eyes squeezed shut in concentration. Her right hand rests face down on the ground in the same way it did when she detected if Jet was telling the truth or not. "This doesn't make any sense. They're both telling the truth."

"That's impossible."

Sokka figures it out pretty quickly. "No, it's not. Toph can't tell who's lying because they both think they're telling the truth. Jet's been brainwashed!"

Jet turns away from us. "That's crazy, it can't be!" But all seven of us close in on him, effectively trapping him in a circle. Toph and Sokka each grab one of his arms, leading him away while the rest follow.

I'm still confused about whom exactly Jet is, why he's here, and what the Dai Li is up to, but I follow them to a small house where I assume Jet's gang has been residing. I wait until they tie Jet to a chair before I slip away, closing the door quietly and running soundlessly down the street.

Now that I know where my friends will be for a little, I can retrieve my glider and bag from Taro's home. We're already in the Middle Ring, so once I find a main road I can easily navigate myself.

Twilight is falling, bathing the city in hues of light pink, deep blue, and purplish gold in between.

The hum of the city has quieted from during the day and I'm in a peaceful silence when I reach Taro's door. I don't bother to knock, walking in because the door is unlocked.

I expect my staff and bag to be leaning up against the door like I left them this morning, but instead my glider is opened on the kitchen table, displaying the orange fabric; my stolen money sits in a pile of shining gold; my Air Nomad clothes rest in the hands of Taro.

His eyes go wide as soon as I walk in, dropping the clothes in a yellow and orange heap on the table in front of him. Then Taro straightens up, hardening his features.

"Care to explain why you have airbender clothes and an airbender's glider?" He asks, reminding me of a particularly strict monk from back home.

I don't question why he knows they're Air Nomad, or why he was even going through my stuff in the first place. Taro's trustworthy, I decide.

So I tell him. I start at the beginning, with the storm and the Spirit World, to my weeks of small towns and forests, to Ba Sing Se, to now. I don't mention Aang telling me about the genocide of my people - the memory is too painful to touch so I push it down to where I can't feel it.

"Wow," Is all Taro has to say, staring at me breathlessly. While he collects his thoughts, I pick up the pile of my real clothes and head to his spare room to strip my Earth Kingdom clothes and replace them with my real orange and yellow garments.

I catch sight of myself in the mirror across from the bed; this is right. It feels right in every way, no matter how much the Fire Nation might want to kill me. But, apparently, the war doesn't exist inside these walls so I'm safe. For now.

My bag and Earth Kingdom clothes will be useless dead weight, so I tell Taro to keep them.

"Thank you," I bow to my still speechless friend, then pick up my now closed glider and step out the door.

By now, a full moon illuminates the dim street as I head back to the house in the Upper Ring. Because it's gotten so late, I can only hope they called it a night after they figured out what's wrong with Jet.

The city is silent, save for a whispering breeze through the buildings, my tiny padding footsteps, the swish of a hidden Dai Li agent's cloak. I keep whipping around to make sure there's no one following me - paranoia comes easily with a group of people as sly and cunning as the Dai Li patrolling Ba Sing Se.

I slide open the front door, knowing if everyone is already here they would leave it unlocked for me.

Expecting to be greeted with darkness and stumble blindly through the house until I reach my room, I'm pleasantly surprised to find Sokka and Aang sitting in front of the window near the back of the house, speaking quietly. They both stand as soon as I close the door, facing me and looking mildly frustrated. I step up the single stair to where they are and stop slightly in front of them.

"Where have you been? You just left and didn't tell anyone where you were going. We were really worried!" Aang demands, brow furrowed. It takes all my will not to laugh at my twelve-year-old friend trying to reprimand me for leaving without a goodbye. Ironic how he did the same all those years ago. I really don't want to see the pain and regret flash over Aang's innocent face, so I refrain from mentioning the irony.

"Yeah, we were worried!" Sokka repeats, jabbing a finger near me accusingly. "You can't just wander off like that."

"Sorry," I put my hands up in surrender. "Didn't realize mom and dad would be up waiting for me to get home."

Aang sighs. "Just go to bed, okay?"

"You're two years younger than me," I remind him. "You can't tell me what to do."

"What about me? I'm a year older than you!" Sokka interjects; leaning forward so that is face is only a few inches away from mine. I take a step back, still glaring at him harshly.

"You too, mom," I quip. "I met you not a day ago. Your telling-me-what-to-do privileges come in about a week. Even then, who knows if I'll listen...?" I trail off. "So what exactly happened with Jet? Was he really brainwashed?"

Aang's anger melts and he jumps into a swift explanation. "Yeah, the Dai Li brainwashed him! They took him to their headquarters under Lake Laogai. We're gonna go check it out tomorrow morning."

"Which is why _you _should be asleep!" Sokka shouts in a strangled cry.

"Alright, mom, calm down, I'll go to bed." I don't really understand why this bothers him - or Aang - so much, but it is a good idea to get some sleep; knowing us, we'll be leaving earlier than I would usually enjoy.

I crawl into bed for the second time today and fall asleep, knowing Lake Laogai waits in just a few hours.

* * *

It turns out I'm correct about us leaving in the early morning hours. Toph knocks on my door so loudly that I fall out of bed in a panic and hit the floor with a _boom_! I assume she feels the vibrations of my backside slamming into the ground and bends a large block of earth to push my body into a sitting position. "Rise and shine, airhead number two!" (I guess Aang is airhead number one). "Lake Laogai awaits!"

We take a train to the Outer Wall, then walk down a hillside to the sandy shore of the Lake. Even though I'm still rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I can still tell there's no secret entrance visible from here. Then: "There's a tunnel right there near the shore." Toph points to a seemingly random spot in the water, and we follow. She then earthbends a section of rock up, with a circular block of earth toward the end - the entrance, I suppose. The rock slides away at Toph's command and all I can see is darkness going on and on and on.

Aang hops down first, not even bothering with the ladder that stretches from the entrance to the ground. I quickly follow, using the wind around me to cushion my fall and I land upright, clothes billowing and hair billowing around me.

The rest are forced to climb down the ladder, painfully slow. I watch carefully, ready to catch any of them in case they make a wrong step or lose their grip. But they hop to the ground in one piece, and we sneak along the main corridor, cloaking ourselves in the shadows of the underground headquarters.

Jet leads the way, staring around in wonder. "It's all starting to come back to me." Then he steps to the side, to a doorway off his right where monotonous voices say blankly in unison, "I'm Joo Dee...Welcome to Ba Sing Se." Their words fade the farther I step away, but ice shoots down my spine as I involuntarily shiver.

"I think a cell big enough to hold Appa is up ahead. Follow me." Jet leads us down a few back corridors, and I follow last in the group, senses sharp in case we're being followed. I know how to conceal myself, so I also know the disadvantages of trying to follow someone while being swift: the gentle pattering of footsteps, swishing of clothes, panting of breaths.

But it turns out our problem isn't following us. Jet opens the cell to where Appa might be, but instead we are greeted with an empty, dimly lit room. The door slides shut behind us, but no one is there to close it.

"Guys -" I start to warn, but then the lights come on, revealing a small army of Dai Li agents clinging to chains hanging from the ceiling.

"Now that's something different," Sokka mutters.

Next to me, Katara breathes, "Long Feng," So I can only assume that's the name of the man who speaks next. Feeling incredibly out of the loop, I make a mental note to ask later if there are any more important people I should know about.

"You have made yourselves enemies of the state. Take them into custody." Long Feng directs the last part to the Dai Li, who sweep into action at the word of their leader.

All at once, they freefall from whatever they were hanging onto, then hit the floor unscathed, effectively trapping all eight of us.

The Dai Li attack in pairs, taking one of us versus two of them. But I have the advantage: they don't know I can airbend (unless, of course, they recognize my clothes or have figured it out the unknowable way Joo Dee already knew my name before I even told her).

I knock out the first agent with a sweep of direct, concise wind that knocks him into the wall behind him. He lets out an 'ooph' and is still. That leaves the other one to throw rock gloves at me, which I dodge and redirect back at him with a gust of air.

Behind me, a different agent has grasped onto my top with a rock glove and pulls me, backward, toward him until he is stopped short by Toph smacking him in the head with a rock.

"Thank you!" I call to her, though I'm not sure if she even heard over the clank of Jet's hooked weapons and the crash of rock hitting rock.

I'm not sure how, but I end up fighting back-to-back with Aang, creating a considerable force to be reckoned with. He covers my right side; I fight harder on his left, filling in the places where the other is weaker. Aang smacks his foot into the ground, creating a tall barrier of rock to stop four agents from closing in on us. At the last second, they stop and meet us on equally high pieces of earth.

I deflect rock glove after rock glove; dodge pieces of earth and redirected gusts of wind easily. The sounds of earth and swords blend together seamlessly; Aang and I are unstoppable in this instant. The Dai Li agents are good, but we're better.

Aang and I jump off the rock at the same time, going in separate directions. "Long Feng is escaping!" He cries somewhere off to my left, but I'm too busy smashing Dai Li agents against their own earthen barriers to do anything about the cultural minister. Vaguely, I see Aang and Jet run off after Long Feng, but a pair of rock gloves catches my arms together from behind in my moment of distraction.

I expect to be dragged backward by the same agent who trapped my hands together, but when I blink, the Dai Li is gone. Silence falls over us as Toph frees my hands.

"That was weird," Is all the blind girl says, forcing the tunnel door open with her hands. I lead the way to where I hear the shouts of a battle, but by the time Toph bends the door down, they've stopped.

Aang kneels over an injured-looking Jet, and a barrier of earth stands over them. Long Feng is nowhere to be seen.

We rush to Jet's side, who smiles weakly through his pain. Katara gasps, kneeling down and drawing water from her pouch to put over her friend's abdomen. A few moments pass before the waterbender says grimly, "This isn't good."

The short girl of Jet's gang - I didn't stick around to learn her name last night - says, "You guys go find Appa. We'll take care of Jet."

"We won't leave you." Katara declares desperately.

"There's no time. Just go. We'll take care of him. He's our leader." The boy with the bow and arrows states, and my friends gape at him as if it were the first time he'd ever spoken.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Jet promises Katara, trying for a smile. She stands, looking down at him regretfully.

I make eye contact with the taller boy of Jet's gang and he nods at me. Returning the gesture, I stare at Jet's still body once more before turning away and clenching my fists at the lie he just told.

* * *

"Appa's gone!" Aang cries, voice echoing in the empty room holding only clumps of fur and gigantic metal cuffs.

"Maybe we can catch up!" Sokka says. "C'mon!" We run in sync back to where we entered and there's no time to climb the ladder so Aang and I propel Katara, Sokka, and Toph to where the earthbender cracks the entrance once more.

At the back of the group once more, I hear the whooshing of clothes and turn to see more Dai Li agents hopping out of where we just exited. "Guys, we got a little problem back here!"

"A little problem up here, too!" Sokka warns in reply. Up ahead, Long Feng stands amongst a row of agents, looking menacing as ever.

"Life is never easy, is it?" I mutter to myself, but Toph hears and grins bracingly.

"Not with us. Welcome to Team Avatar."

Both in front and behind us, the rows of Dai Li bend walls much too high to jump over without being dragged down by agents. We're boxed in.

Momo flies down, chattering animatedly as he lands on Aang's shoulder, then flies off into the sun, returning with a dark shadow. That dark shadow takes the form of a sky bison with horns and arrows just like Aang's. Appa! The gigantic bison breaks through both earth walls, effectively scattering the Dai Li agents into the water.

Now standing alone, Long Feng faces the angrily growling Appa. "I'll handle you myself!" And lurches forward, only to be caught by the bison and flung into Lake Laogai where he skips over the water like a stone.

Multiple cries of 'Appa!' emanate from our group and we rush toward the animal, who licks me before everyone else jumps on him. Scrunching my nose, I take the saliva as a good thing as I bury my face in his fur and smile as I hear Aang say quietly, "I missed you, buddy."

For the first time in 100 years, I get onto Appa and hold tightly to his fur.

"Yip, yip!" And the sky bison shoots into the sunset sky, leaving the Dai Li agents struggling to stay afloat in the water below.

* * *

**Wow, almost 4,500 words – that's the most I've written for this fic yet! The first were about 1k then I went up to 2k and hopefully the word count will only go up. **

**And yeah, I know the timing is off during this. I know after Aang yells at Joo Dee, they leave to put up posters right away and find Jet and so on. But I shifted the time a little on purpose… I know how it's supposed to be lol. I'm sorry if the wording is off during the canon part of the episode but I was typing most of it from memory with a little help from a rewatch. **

**Lastly, favorites/follows mean a lot to me and they only take a second! It makes me smile when I get the email notification. Favs/follows make me want to keep writing & inspire me to do better :)**


	6. My Friends Realize I'm Kinda Smart

5: My Friends Realize I'm Kinda Smart

Appa lands not too long after on an island in what looks to be the middle of Laogai. Sokka, Katara, and Toph gather and begin making a plan right away. From what I can hear, Sokka wants to go tell the Earth King about the solar eclipse, because we're "on a roll". I snort to myself, tuning out the rest of the conversation and instead tracing the silhouetted outline of the mountains over the water. Up here, the lake is peaceful and still and an onlooker would breathe in the dry air. It's serene, and I can almost forget about the past few hours and the horrible things that took place underneath the water. Almost.

After a few moments of blissful silence, save for the arguing of Sokka, Katara, and Toph behind me, Aang shuffles to stand next to me. Unlike my whispering, quiet footsteps; Aang is loud and not subtle in the least. I can feel him staring at me, but keep my eyes trained on the red and orange tinted sky instead of looking sideways.

"This is so weird," I mumble.

"Uh, you're going to have to be a little more specific." Aang points out.

"This is it, Aang," I gesture to both of us. "We're all that's left. How can you stand it?"

"Not just us, Aya. We have Appa and Momo too. Don't be so hard on yourself."

I finally turn to him, and it hits me in the chest just how hard this must be for him. Aang smiles, pitches in an optimistic comment, lifts everyone else's spirits - but no one is there for him, because he's always so happy. I can hardly imagine how he reacted when he first learned.

"I know," I finally reply. "It's just...hard to comprehend."

"I get it." Aang puts a hand on my shoulder comfortingly before joining the others and leaving me to my thoughts.

Sokka's loud talking snaps me back to reality. "See, Aang's with me! Aya probably is too...It's the whole reason we came here in the first place - we have to try."

"Hey!" I cry indignantly. "You assume just because Aang agrees, it means I do too?"

"Well, uh...yeah. Pretty much. Do you?"

"Yeah, but still."

"See, she's with us!"

Katara thinks for a moment. "Well, I suppose if the Earth King knew the truth, things could change..."

My eyes are still searching the still water, but I hear Toph move. "I don't trust the new positive Sokka...Long Feng brainwashed you, didn't he?!" She accuses.

"Guys?" I call over, eyes widening slightly as I catch sight of the ships sailing swiftly through the lake. "We might have to worry about _actually_ being brainwashed if we don't move soon. The Dai Li's looking for us." I point to the boats.

"So?" Sokka asks, staring in the direction of my finger.

"Let's fly."

I'm too thrilled to have Appa back that I don't complain about riding without a saddle. My fingers cling tightly to the bison's smooth fur, but my hand keeps slipping as its slick with sweat. Of course, if I fall I can easily airbend myself back; something about that idea makes me fell nauseous, so I hold tight.

Beside me, Toph's expression is one of complete terror - cloudy green eyes wide, she grips Appa with one hand, other grasped tightly around my wrist. I suppose she trusts me more than Appa, and if she were to fall I'd be the first to help her.

"There's the palace. The Earth King's chamber should be somewhere in the center." Sokka says decisively.

"We have to be careful," Katara warns. "Long Feng's probably told the King that we're coming."

"Why would you think that? If you ask me, I think we're just gonna - AH!" Sokka cuts himself as we swerve to avoid a giant piece of rock heading right for us.

"What was that?" Toph shouts over the wind, her voice shaky.

Sokka pauses his screams to respond. "Surface to air rocks! More incoming!"

Appa reduces to a pace fast enough to keep us flying, but slow enough for me to stand without flying off. I raise my arms, creating a gust of wind to push the rocks coming at us from both the left and right away. Aang takes care of one coming in fast from the side by simply reaching out one hand and smashing it to pieces. My air isn't sufficiently strong to break rock so far away and I don't want to take a chance and let one come close enough to find out - instead, I redirect them back down at the groups of soldiers. Even though they can easily bend them away, it's a little hard to both fire and stop rocks at the same time.

Aang jumps down from his position on Appa's head just as we land, and I take his place to land the air bison safely. We hop down hastily and follow the airbender, me taking up the rear as usual. The only thing I hear is the rush of blood in my ears and the sound of rock hitting rock, feet stomping the ground. I duck to avoid a block of earth coming for my head and kick out with both feet to knock the guard off of his. Katara and I work together to push the soldiers out of the way as Aang and Toph take on the guards' weapons of choice - rock blocks.

"Sorry!" The waterbender apologizes. "We just need to see the Earth King!" As if that will mean anything after we've swept them all away.

Toph knocks a particularly large group of guards down with individual squares of earth, pushing them into each other like dominoes. We rush past, and I try to drown out their groans.

Enormous statues of badger moles rise into the air at the hands of a row of guards, and they fly toward us, overshadowing our group menacingly. Before either Aang or Toph can react and smash them to bits, I take action, shooting a blast of wind above; the statues arc over our heads and then smash into the ground behind Appa, who roars almost resentfully.

Katara hurries forward, using a water whip to knock multiple soldiers at a time into the small river surrounding the palace. We cross the bridge, and she freezes the water so they can't move.

"Oh no," I mutter, being the first to see what seems like hundreds of guards sprinting down the palace stairs, firing rocks down as they go.

Toph steps forward, and after a moment of concentration, she pushes her arms down. A moment passes, then the stairs give way and flatten out so the guards lose their footing and fall all at once, screaming as they skid to a halt where we stand. Toph and Aang bend a chunk of earth from the ground and use it to slide us effortlessly up the stairs. I bend air up and to the side to stop any incoming soldiers from hitting our piece of rock, and instead direct them down to join the rest of the guards. I vaguely hear Sokka's feeble apologies as the guards tumble down.

We head forward once the rock reaches the top of the stairs, Aang and Toph earthbending the next group of guards away. More come when we enter the actual palace, but Toph stomps down and pushes them up on individual columns of earth; I'm left to smack the remaining soldiers into the wall instantaneously. Toph and Aang mostly use earth, but air is just as powerful. Fighting earth versus earth isn't always the best way to go.

"Toph, which way to the Earth King?" Sokka questions, looking around wildly.

"How should I know? I'm still voting we leave Ba Sing Se!"

Sokka runs off, opening doors at random, while I turn my attention to a single guard who tries to get me to fly into the ceiling by bending up a short column of rock underneath me. Obviously, he underestimates my bending abilities as well as my reflexes and I flip in midair, landing lightly on the ground before sending a violent gust of wind toward him. He smashes into the wall - I _swear_ I hear something crack through the din - and I move onto the next group of soldiers coming for me. Just like in the Dai Li headquarters, the noises and sounds and shapes all seem to blend together into one until it's just me and the guards I'm sweeping away.

Then suddenly, there's no one left except for Katara, Aang, Toph, and me; and Sokka, who stands on a pile of rubble, staring down the hallway. "Now that's an impressive door - it's gotta lead somewhere!" He runs forward, trying to push open the door (and failing) until Aang swishes with his glider and they break from their hinges, landing with a _boom._

Sokka, having not moved out of the way, lands amongst the doors, shouting angrily at Aang, who doesn't respond. In sync, we dash to join Sokka and hold up our weapons defensively: Aang, his glider; Katara a water whip; Sokka's boomerang; Toph holding up a chunk of earth. I stand, feet spread and arms held up in a paused airbending form.

Long Feng and a small army of Dai Li agents slides in front of the Earth King's throne, staring menacingly at us.

"We need to talk to you." Aang firmly states.

"They're here to overthrow you." Long Feng tells the King.

"No! We're on your side. You have to trust us!" Sokka argues.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but if we're on his side, why are we holding up weapons?" I point out to no one in particular. "We want a peaceful conversation with you, sir. We have some important information you might be interested in hearing." I address the last part to the King, making direct eye contact. Pointedly standing upright from my about-to-attack position, I don't break my firm gaze.

"Aya, what are you _doing_?" Sokka hisses through clenched teeth.

"You can't possibly think anyone in their right mind would want to speak to us if we're shoving weapons in his face." I say authoritatively, not looking at the water tribe boy. "Am I wrong?"

"Your friend is right. You invade my palace, lay waste to all my guards, break down my fancy door, and you expect me to _trust_ you?" The Earth King stands, glaring furiously. "If you're on my side, you'll follow her lead and put down your weapons."

Grudgingly, Aang, Toph, and Sokka throw down their glider, rock, and boomerang as Katara snaps the water back into her pouch.

"See? We're friends, your earthiness!" Aang grins widely, and it takes all my willpower not to smack myself in the forehead at his stupidity. The Dai Li agents thrust forward, throwing rock gloves and catching our hands behind us. I don't miss the smirk that flashes on Long Feng's face.

"Detain the assailants." He orders, and the Dai Li slide across the floor and arc until they stand in a line behind us.

"But we dropped our weapons!" Sokka protests. "We're your allies!"

"Make sure the Avatar and his friends never see daylight again."

The Earth King observes Sokka. "The Avatar? You're the Avatar?"

"No, him." He nods to Aang.

"Over here!"

Long Feng shoots down the King. "What does it matter? They're enemies of the state."

A bear - the King's, I assume, due to it being _dressed_ in royal-looking clothes - crawls to Aang and sniffs his clothes, licking the young boy's face. "Bosco seems to like him...I'll hear what he has to say." He decides.

I don't listen to Aang's explanation, as I've already heard it not just a day ago. Instead, I focus on the Dai Li agents' movements to my right and left. If necessary, I can use my feet to airbend them away from me or turn around and use my mouth. I stop myself when I realize there's no need for a plan - why did my mind automatically resort to finding the best way to escape?

"All lies," I hear Long Feng say when I come back to reality. "I've never even seen a sky bison. Frankly, I thought they were extinct."

"Your claim is difficult to believe, even from an Avatar." The King sits down, inspecting us thoughtfully.

A few moments' whispering from Long Feng prompts the Earth King's conclusion. "I have to trust my advisor."

I can sense the Dai Li agent to my left reach for me, but I'm ready before he can even touch me. In an instant, I bring my foot up and bend a gust of wind to push him away. I don't have to look to see him hit the ceiling. "Don't touch me." I hiss to the line of agents, eyes narrowed.

"Sir, I can prove to you the war is real." I address the King formally once more.

"There is no proof." Long Feng says, staring at me coolly.

"I wasn't talking to you." My voice comes out steely. "If you come with us, there's something I can show you that proves it."

"This could be a waste of my time, and my cultural minister thinks the same. My apologies, but I have to listen to him."

"Do you not trust the Avatar?"

"I suppose...the matter is worth looking into." The King says slowly. "Where exactly would you be taking me?"

"The Outer Wall. There, you'll find something the Fire Nation used to try and break through the supposedly impenetrable wall."

"The Outer Wall?!" He exclaims. "No Earth King has ever been there before..."

"Believe me, sir, I wish this war wasn't real just as much as you do. But it is, and you need to trust us, if not just for an hour." Then something occurs to me. "You've seen waterbenders and earthbenders multiple times before, correct?"

I'm met with a nod, so I take that as my cue to continue. "When was the last time you've seen either an airbender or a firebender?"

A moment's pause. "Well...never, actually."

"Because nearly every firebender is against the Earth Kingdom, so it's no wonder you've never seen one. And the airbenders you've never seen because they're...gone."

"Gone?"

I swallow, hard, but it feels like I'm breathing in dusty air and choking on shards of glass. "Gone. The Fire Nation wiped all of us out in hopes of killing the Avatar to be born into that nation. Aang and I are the last ones."

The Earth King studies the five of us carefully, before nodding slowly. "Alright. I'll come with you."

* * *

I join Aang on Appa's head once we're flying, followed closely by Momo. The flying lemur lands on my shoulder. This feels right - the last four living pieces of the air nomads.

I watch the patches of grass and streets and buildings pass as we make our way to the Outer Wall.

"Aya?" Katara's voice comes from Appa's back.

"Hmm?"

"How did you know to go to the Outer Wall? What about Lake Laogai? You weren't even with us when we stopped the drill."

My jaw drops unexpectedly. "_You_ guys stopped that drill? Who was even running it? How...?" I trail off, staring at her in shock.

She smirks. "The Fire Nation princess, Azula. It wasn't too hard; we just had to weaken it so Aang could deliver the final blow."

"The what? Nevermind. I'll figure it out eventually." I roll my eyes. "Anyway, I knew because the Dai Li aren't idiots. They would've destroyed or somehow covered up the headquarters under the lake. The drill? Now that'd be hard to cover up, even for them. If it wasn't gone by the time I showed up, I figure it takes a while to do."

"You know, you're a lot smarter than I'd originally thought. You're more decisive and perceptive than Aang is. You actually think things out."

I smirk, fidgeting with the silver bracelets hanging on my wrist. "I'll take that as a compliment." I say, turning back around to where the Outer Wall is coming into view. My breath hitches and I pray - to what, I'm not entirely sure - that the drill is still there. Otherwise, I risk everything.

"It's still there!" Aang shouts from next to me.

"What is that?" The Earth King breathes. The drill is still there, tip jammed into the stone of the wall. A wall of earth surrounds it in a semicircle - a lame attempt to shield the drill from what, I'm unsure.

"A drill," I explain, not ripping my eyes away from the sight. "A drill made by the Fire Nation to break through the wall of Ba Sing Se. This is one of the last safe cities in the Earth Kingdom, and they wanted to take it."

Aang guides Appa down to the wall, and after I help Toph down, I join the others in standing behind the King.

"I can't believe I never knew," The King breathes, staring in wondering shock at the metal monster below.

I whirl around at the sound of Long Feng's composed yet infuriating voice. "I can explain, your majesty. This is nothing more than a construction project."

"Then perhaps you can explain why there's a Fire Nation insignia on your construction project." Katara says.

"Well it's imported, of course! You know you can't trust domestic machinery." He tries for a feeble excuse, but the Earth King has none of it.

"Dai Li, arrest Long Feng. I want him to stand trial for crimes against the Earth Kingdom."

The two agents chain his arms after a moment's hesitation, but a sinking feeling rises in my stomach when I realize the Dai Li is still probably still loyal to their leader. However, when I hear the cheers of my friends, I decide to wait to say anything so I don't dampen their spirits.

I only hope I'm not making a mistake.

* * *

"Very well. You have my support." The Earth King agrees, prompting a small celebration among us. Toph does a victory dance, Aang rides around us on an air scooter, and Sokka and Katara trap me in a shoulder hug, which I shrug out of at the sound of a new voice entering the room.

"Your majesty," The man dressed in Earth Kingdom army clothes bows. "I apologize for the interruption."

"This is General How. He's the leader of the Council of Five, my highest ranking generals." The King introduces the still kneeling man.

"We searched Long Feng's office. I think we found something to interest everyone."

How leads us out of the throne room and into a different one with books lining the shelves and a fire crackling in the fireplace. I stare at the flames for a moment, but turn my head when How says, "The Dai Li kept secret files on everyone in Ba Sing Se. Including all of you."

The Earth King opens the box placed in front of him and picks out one at random, reading Toph's name off of the scroll. He passes it to Aang, who passes to Toph, who passes it to Katara to read.

"It's a letter from your mom. She's here in the city, and she wants to see you." Katara reads aloud. Toph's face lights up, then falls in disgust.

"Long Feng intercepted our letters from home? That's just sad."

The King pulls another scroll from the box. "Aang."

"This was attached to the horn of your bison when the Dai Li captured it." How tells him.

"It's from the Eastern Air Temple." Aang reads aloud, grinning.

"Is there a letter for me and Sokka, by any chance?" Katara asks hopefully.

How shakes his head. "No, but there is an intelligence report that might interest you." He holds out a scroll to Katara, who takes it apprehensively. Sokka leans over her shoulder as they both scan the paper.

"A small fleet of Water Tribe ships? Protecting the mouth of Chameleon Bay...led by Hakoda! It is dad!" Katara reads in mounting excitement, smiling widely at Sokka.

I doubt there's anything for me, but I ask anyway. "Is there anything for me?"

"I'm afraid not," The King seems regretful, but I just smile.

"I've been in the Spirit World for the past hundred years. I'd be worried if there was." I point out, relieved.

How and the Earth King exit the room, leaving us to sit in a circle on the floor in front of the table with the file box sitting on it.

"I can't believe it." Aang says, scanning over his letter once more. "There's a man living in the Eastern Air Temple. He says he's a Guru."

"What's a Guru? Some kind of poisonous blowfish?" Sokka asks, clueless, and I stare at him incredulously, resisting the urge to smack myself in the forehead.

"No, a spiritual expert. He says he can teach me to master the Avatar State."

"And we finally know where our dad is!" Katara exclaims, clutching the intelligence report tightly as if she's afraid she'll lose it if she doesn't hold it close enough.

"I know what you mean," Toph pipes up. "My mom's in the city, and it sounds like she finally understands me."

Sokka looks around at all of us. "This is all such big news. Where do we even start?"

"I guess we split up," I say finally. "Aang, you need to see this Guru. Katara, Sokka, you need to see your dad. Toph, if your mom 'finally understands you'...you need to talk to her."

"But we just found Appa and got the family back together! Aya, you should be the last person suggesting we split up!" Aang pauses, studying my face closely, but I keep my expression blank. "Where would_ you_ go?"

"The Southern Air Temple." I decide. "I need to see it for myself."

Sokka, Katara, and Aang exchange troubled expressions. Finally, Sokka sighs. "Aya, it's probably not the best idea for you to go. When Aang went...well, let's just say it wasn't exactly a fun time for any of us."

I shake my head, determined. "I can handle it. I just have to see what's still there. I don't know why, but I need some kind of closure."

"That doesn't sound like the kind of closure you need." Aang insists.

"How would you know what _I_ need?" I ask bitterly, turning away.

Fire sparks in Aang's eyes, though his voice comes out hurt. "Because I'm your best friend. I know you. You really don't need to see all that destruction. There's nothing left for you to see. I'd rather you go to the Northern. There's a group of people there I'm sure would be happy to meet you. They're not airbenders, but they've got the same spirit as us. Trust me, Aya."

"Plus, the Northern is closer than the Southern. It took you a couple weeks to get to Ba Sing Se, and you weren't too far from the Southern when you woke up, right?" Katara inquires.

Chewing my lip for a moment, I sigh in defeat. "Fine,"

The others continue to work out the logistics of their travels, but I'm lost in thought as I stare at the fire intently. People at the Northern Air Temple? The journey shouldn't take too long, but what about once I'm there? They've probably destroyed some of the most sacred parts of the temple...or maybe, they've rebuilt the destroyed pieces. I don't know what exactly to expect, so I have to brace myself for anything.

We're given a single chamber with five separate beds for the night. The bed I'm given is astonishingly comfortable, but I lay awake with my eyes trained on the ceiling until they grow tired and I roll over, exhausted.

* * *

"I'm really gonna miss you guys," Toph tells Katara, Aang, Sokka, and I the next morning before our departures. Toph will find the house her mother is in on foot, Katara will stay to help plan the moves of the Earth Kingdom troops, Aang and Sokka will fly on Appa to their respective destinations, and I will fly to the Outer Wall where I will be given an ostrich horse to make the journey to the Northern Temple.

"Me too," Katara replies.

"Yeah," Aang adds.

Katara and Aang grab Toph and me in a hug, then move toward Sokka, who grudgingly allows himself to be pulled into the group hug.

Aang pulls Katara slightly away from us once we untangle our arms, but I can still hear him from where I stand.

"Katara, I need to tell you something that I've wanted to say for a long time."

"What is it, Aang?"

I figure it out in an instant, and then it makes perfect sense. Aang isn't exactly the master of subtlety and Katara is the most naive person I've ever met. In other words, they're perfect for each other.

Smirking to myself, I open my glider and bid the others farewell. I step back, break into a run, and leap off the stairs into the open sky.

* * *

Landing neatly on the wall, I greet the general that How told me of, Sung.

"You must be Aya," Sung smiles, holding out a hand to shake. I take it.

"You know of any other female airbenders?" I ask dryly.

He chooses to ignore my comment and instead shows me a set of stairs cut down through the wall that leads to the outside. "An ostrich horse waits at the bottom for you. You've denied any guards coming with you - are you completely sure that is wise?"

"I'm pretty smart, and I can handle myself. Thank you!" I tell him, ignoring the stairs and instead jumping off the wall in a freefall. The ground comes closer, closer, closer - then I flip so I'm falling feet first and bend a cushion of air beneath me.

I look up at the shocked general, waving cheerily to him. "Thanks for all your help!"

True to Sung's word, an ostrich horse waits, tethered to a pole near the staircase's exit. I mount it, ushering it to a steady pace.

It's not long before the arid air presses into my skin deeply, leaving it hot to the touch. I wipe the sweat from my forehead, longing for the breeze that would come from flying on my glider.

Without warning, I pull the reins of the ostrich horse to a halt and flick open my glider. I flick the reins so the horse continues going, not seeming to mind the absence of its rider. I take to the sky once more, relishing the wind on my face while still making sure to stay in time with the semi-fast moving ostrich horse.

Adrenaline surges through my veins the longer I fly, and I soon forget to check for the ostrich horse anywhere nearby.

Suddenly, my eyes snap open at the sound of a disturbance. _My_ ostrich horse is nowhere to be seen, but below, five Dai Li agents ride animals of the same breed. Before I can act, a rock glove is shot through each side of my glider, effectively ripping the orange fabric clean through. I'm forced to land and face the agents, anger clouding my mind. Besides my clothes, my glider is one of the only things I still have from the Air Temple. I suddenly regret refusing Sung's offer of a few Earth Kingdom guards coming with me.

But the agents don't attack right away, so I swiftly use my now closed (and broken) staff to push a compressed gust of wind their way. They act fast, and avoid being knocked over by bending walls large enough to cover their entire bodies in front of them. With a flick of the wrist, the walls come toward me and twist so they're parallel to my body. The earthen walls come at me from both sides, about to squish my body between them. Without thinking, I airbend myself up out of harm's way so that the walls crash into each other and break into pieces. But the Dai Li agents behind the two who created the walls leap forward with rock gloves and catch my arms behind my back, my feet together. I fall, hard, with no air to cushion my fall. I hit the rocks from the broken walls with an 'ooph' escaping my lips.

"So this is the last female airbender? I have to say, I'm a little disappointed. I thought you'd be better than the Avatar. You know, girls _are_ better fighters than boys. Apparently not you." A female voice rings out from behind all five of the agents. Red and black shoes come into my vision, and a clawed hand grips my arm firmly, painfully yanking me up by the bicep.

I'm met with the golden eyes customary to the Fire Nation, as well as a cold, pointed face. She'd be beautiful if not for the red and black colors of her clothing, identifying her nationality.

"What should we do with her, princess?" One of the Dai Li asks, and my eyes narrow.

_Princess._ Fire Nation clothes. My lips quirk into a wry grin.

"Yeah, Azula. What are you gonna do with me?"

She only looks mildly surprised that I know her identity. "Take her to the catacombs with Zuzu. The Avatar will come for her eventually."

I don't have time to wonder who 'Zuzu' is.

"Yeah?" I ask. "How do you expect him to do that? He's probably already at the Eastern Air Temple."

Azula's golden eyes flash like lightning. "He's the Avatar, and you're his best friend, the only airbender in existence besides him. Something tells me he will easily discover your...predicament."

A thought pops into my mind, and my throat closes up in panic. "Where's Katara?"

"Relax. My friends failed to capture her. We're unsure of her location, but we don't have her. You were more important."

"I'm flattered. But why should I trust you?" I snarl.

"What other choice do you have?" Azula asks innocently, flipping her hair out of her face and stepping aside to let a single Dai Li agent step forward. I barely have time to register what he's doing - all I see is the rock coming closer and closer to my forehead and then everything fades away. In an instant, there is nothing but darkness.

* * *

**Next up, Crossroads of Destiny! I've been envisioning the next chapter since before Aya even had a name.**

**This was a really long combination of "The Earth King" and part of "The Guru". I'm sorry for how the first part is pretty much all canon events but I tried to mix it up a little bit. The next chapter will be much better, pinky promise :)**

*****I won't update until Saturday or Sunday, cause I'm going away until Saturday and seeing as how this is a pretty big chapter, it might take me a while to write. **


	7. Okay, Maybe I Can't Handle It

6: Okay, Maybe I Can't Handle It

The air is musty and dank, chilling me to the bone. Even through my closed eyes, I can sense a source of light nearby - strange, considering the chilly underground air surrounding my body. It takes a moment for me look around, and even longer to stand. I'm somewhere underground, encircled by glowing, light green rocks. The ceiling seems to go on forever in a rocky dome, earth interrupted only by the luminous crystals.

My fingers reach for my staff, but it's nowhere to be found. Vaguely, I remember the rips in the fabric formed by the Dai Li's weapons of choice. I scan the perimeter of the cave for an exit, but my eyes only meet stone and radiant emerald. There's a single tunnel leading up - out, I assume - but the entrance is blocked by a massive boulder.

Defeated, I sink to the floor. There's no visible exit, and my head is aching from being hit directly with a rock. I don't want to airbend at anything yet and expend my energy if there is no possible way to get out, and the glare of the glowing crystals hurts my pounding head even more, if possible. I bury my face in my knees, blinking the tears away. I will not cry.

Remembering what Azula said before, about Aang probably coming to help me, my heartbeat accelerates. The moment she gets word of his arrival, he'll have an entire army of Dai Li agents as well as the princess herself to fight. Two versus one hundred, supposing Katara finds him.

There's nothing else to distract me down here, so my mind goes into overdrive, creating every awful scenario possible. I know they're not real, but the image of Aang surrounded and outnumbered by Dai Li burns itself into my brain.

I stand at the sound of a disruption somewhere above. The stone blocking the entrance of the tunnel leading out moves away, and light floods the cavern. Maybe I can get out now, if they're not already coming to take me out. A Dai Li agent shouts something to me, but my ears are ringing with the prospect of escape too much to hear it. Before I can even think about a plan, the rock has taken its place again, sealing off the exit and leaving me in the dim light of the pointed green rocks.

Cursing under my breath, I slide back down to the floor, glaring at the now closed exit. But I look down slightly, to where a heap of a teenager lays at the foot of the tunnel.

I watch, almost mesmerized, as he pushes himself up into a kneeling position, then stands fully, examining the cave in the same way I did. When his eyes land on mine, he jumps slightly as if he wasn't expecting me to be there.

"Sorry to scare you," I state dryly.

He has choppily cut dark hair that hangs into his Fire Nation gold eyes, but is dressed in an Earth Kingdom robe. Fire Nation, but loyal to the Earth Kingdom? But what really draws my attention to him is the imprint of what once were flames scarred onto the right side of his face. It looks to be from a long time ago, but no amount of healing - even when it was new - could fix something that deeply burned.

Although I'm sure I'd remember a face like his, there's a lingering feeling of familiarity I can't place. It's on the tip of my tongue, but the name won't rise.

"Who're you?" He finally asks after a moment of silence hangs in the air.

I don't know what to make of him, but if we're stuck here together I might as well trust him, if not for an hour. "My name's Aya."

"I didn't ask for your name."

"You got it anyway." I don't like his attitude. "If you asked who I was, what did you expect me to say?"

I'm met with silence.

"Fine," I mutter. "I can handle this myself."

I'm not sure how much time has passed between now and when I first woke up, but my head is slightly clearer and not pounding as hard as before; I move past him and up the tunnel. Maybe if I airbend hard enough, I can push the rock out of the way or snap one of the crystals off of the cavern walls and bend it fast enough into the barrier so it cracks.

Inhaling deeply, I rapidly push the air from my lungs while shoving forward with my arms and bend a strong current of wind at the rock, but it doesn't budge. I continue this, over and over and over until I lose my patience and unleash a powerful wave of air at the sealed entrance - the stone doesn't move but the air ricochets off it and knocks me off my feet.

I'm unprepared for the rebound, and I don't have time to lightly land on a cushion of air - instead, I hit the rough ground, hard, at the boy's feet.

"You're an airbender?" He breathes, staring at me with a strange expression gracing his features. "But you don't have any tattoos."

"Yeah, and you've got a giant scar on your face - thank you for pointing out the obvious." I reply sarcastically. "That aside, you think you can help get us out? Are you even a bender?"

"I'm a firebender," He states carefully, noting the way my expression changes at the last word.

My eyes narrow, and I cross my arms. "I'm not prejudiced. As long as you're not connected to the Fire Lord, or the people who killed the Air Nomads. Which I doubt, because that was a hundred years ago..." I trail off, chewing on my lip.

He's good at hiding his expression, but I know a suppressed emotion from a mile away. I've had practice from the past couple days, so I don't miss the flash of panic that takes over his scarred face for a moment; but then it's gone and I wonder if I even saw it in the first place.

"I'm not, I promise. My name's Zuko."

Something occurs to me, and I snort quietly, remembering how Azula told the Dai Li to 'take her to the catacombs with Zuzu.' "Zuzu?"

Horrified, Zuko clenches his jaw, twisting his hands into fists. "Don't call me that!"

"Alright, Zuzu. Now, how do you suppose we get out of here?"

"We don't, we just have to -" But he stops himself short at the sound of rumbling from somewhere off to my right.

I don't have to look at Zuko to know he's taken the same defensive stance as me, facing the side of the cavern where the noise resounded from. With a final reverberation of the same crash as before, a side of the room is clouded with dust and earth. I push away the dust with a gentle breeze - I'm not sure if I should be attacking - to reveal Aang and Katara standing with an old man dressed similarly to Zuko.

"Aya!" My two friends launch themselves toward me, both of them grabbing one of my shoulders in a three-way-embrace.

They release me, and I observe them each in turn. They look fine, save for a few cuts and scrapes, but that's expected. Azula was telling the truth about Katara.

"The Kyoshi warriors weren't the real ones; they were Azula and her two friends, Mai and Ty Lee. They tried to capture me, but I escaped." Katara explains in a rush, not bothering to begin with formalities.

"I was at the Eastern Air Temple, and I saw a vision of both of you in trouble. I knew I had to come right away." Aang continues, smiling at me, but I want to slap him for his stupidity. "The Guru told me our spirits are intertwined, that's how I found you."

"You shouldn't have come," I tell them, ignoring Katara's confusion and Aang's crestfallen appearance. "Azula only took me so you'd come. She wants _you_, not me."

Aang pointedly looks over my shoulder, to where Zuko and the old man stand, watching us carefully. "But that's Zuko!"

"Yes, I'm aware of his name, thank you."

"Not his name, Aya, I mean he's the Fire Lord's son! He's Azula's brother, and he tracked us all over the world and tried to capture Aang. You can't trust him." Katara elaborates.

Whirling around, I stare the prince in his golden eyes. "_I promise,_" I repeat through clenched teeth, then turn back around to face my friends. Katara searches my face worriedly, but Aang looks furious.

"I would've been okay. I can handle myself."

Katara tries to speak, but Aang's harsh yell cuts off the words about to escape her mouth. "No, Aya! You think you can handle things on your own, but you _can't_! You can't handle yourself!"

I shrug Katara's comforting hand off of my arm, about to shout an irate reply, but the old man standing with Zuko stops me.

"Now is not the time for arguments. Go help your other friends. We'll catch up with you."

Aang bows, his fury momentarily forgotten as he leads Katara and I back from where they came.

"We've gotta find Sokka and Toph!" The waterbender tells us, and I decide now is not the time to ask where they are.

Suddenly, a blast of blue flames rockets from the tunnel we just ran out of, followed consecutively by an equally powerful stream of red fire. Aang turns around at just the right second, earthbending a wall of stone to stop the fire. Even then, we're pushed back from the force of the firebending.

Behind the smoke, I catch sight of two figures. The first I recognize instantly as Princess Azula, standing with two fingers extended toward us; the second takes me a moment to place the unkempt dark hair and smooth, innocent face.

"Taro?" I breathe, stopping both Aang and Katara from attacking in defense. Azula smirks, but doesn't move to shoot any more of her blue fire toward us. Taro doesn't, either, his gaze fixated on me.

"I see you've met my brother, Ayana." Azula refers to me using my full name.

"Brother?" I choke out, shock squeezing my insides together.

Now neither side is making any move to fight, so Azula steps forward slightly, that grin not leaving her lips. "You mean you don't see the family resemblance? He is my twin, after all..."

"How? I...- why?" I demand, looking past Azula at her twin brother who I had once trusted.

"I'm so sorry, Aya." Taro tries for a regretful tone, but I sense the distaste behind it.

"Funny thing is, you're not."

"You want an explanation? Fine." Azula studies her nails disinterestedly as she tells the story of her brother. "Taro and Zuko were close, kind of like those water tribe peasants. Zuzu got himself banished, and little Taro couldn't take it. He ran away. To Ba Sing Se. He actually helped me find you. Lucky he thought you were pretty, otherwise I would never have known either of you were in Ba Sing Se. The Dai Li found him trying to follow you, but he was out after curfew in the Upper Ring so they arrested him." Azula looks directly at me, cold and calculating. Kind of like my usual expression, only much more twisted and malevolent. "When I took over the Dai Li, I found little Taro cowering in a prison cell. Naturally, he was more than willing to come with me once he learned that his beloved Zuko was a traitor. Now, he's with me. And we're going to end _you_."

With her final word, Azula springs into action, shooting more blue fire at us. Katara retaliates with a twisted wave of water, which sizzles into steam when met with Azula's flames.

Silence follows for a moment, until the twin firebenders jump out of the smoke, using both hands to push fireballs at us. Azula lands on a particularly tall piece of rock, aiming her fire toward Aang and Katara, who bend a shield of water to protect themselves from another blast.

Taro, on the other hand, comes from the ground on the other side of the three of us, aiming his fire specifically at me. Seeing this, I split from Aang and Katara and use the winds to propel myself to the other side of the room. Taro shoots continuous fire toward me, which I evade by hopping from between the glowing emerald crystals or airbending in another direction.

Behind the boy I once trusted, I catch a glimpse of Zuko firebending at Aang; Azula attacking Katara.

"Wow, your family's just full of liars, isn't it?" I muse, swirling my arms together to create a resilient gust of air, forcing Taro back toward the moat of water. He twists around to see his older brother, and I use his moment of distraction to airbend him into the water.

The world around me blurs into a mesh of blue fire and explosions and the sizzle of water evaporating until it's just Taro and I, deflecting each other's bending all around the room. He rockets an immense amount of fire at my feet, and I jump to evade it, flipping over his head and landing neatly on his other side. Taro tries to turn around, but I sweep him off his feet and swipe down with both hands so that he stays pressed into the ground no matter how hard he tries to rise. With a final blow, I hop into the mess of crystals growing out of the wall, hopping from rock to rock to avoid his continuous fire balls.

But Taro figures out which crystal I'm going for next, and he catches me with a rope of flames while I'm in the air. My arm burns where the fire hit, and I only just have time to catch myself before I hit the ground. Even so, I hit the rocky cavern floor, hard, and have to roll sideways to protect myself from Taro's next move. Now, my hair has fallen from its ribbon and hangs in my eyes from both sides.

Taro pauses, and we stand for a moment, staring each other down but not letting our hands drop. Over his shoulder, Katara and Zuko battle with ropes of water and fire, respectively; Aang and Azula are hard to pin down, but a lot of blue flames come from their general direction.

My gaze turns back to Taro, who aims an enormous explosion of flames toward me, which dissipates into nothing when it meets my swirling shield of air.

He grunts, and we continue in a dance of fire, air, jumping, ducking, rolling. Air is usually a defensive element, used to redirect your opponent's blows, but I change it to offensive as I push Taro back into the wall behind him until the firebender has nowhere to go. Then he does something that surprises me so much, I almost forget to defend myself.

Taro sprints toward me, head on, and we twist around until our positions are switched - me, almost touching the rock, him with his back to the rest of the room. Before I can even think about airbending him back a little more into the water, he's one step ahead in creating another explosion of flames that forces me back into the wall. My head connects with a particularly sharp piece of green crystal and I fall, vision blurry.

Taro runs to join Azula and Zuko, who face a fallen Katara. Aang is nowhere to be found. At least, I think, until my best friend comes flying out of a dust cloud, earthbending a mound of rocks up that he rides to the three siblings. They look as if they're about to firebend at him, but a Dai Li agent lands directly in front of Aang and smashes his pile of earth to pieces, sending the Avatar flying into the ground.

I try to rise, but my arms shake with burns and cuts, and my head pounds as it did when I woke earlier. It seems I've developed a habit of getting knocked in the head with rocks.

But then the Dai Li appears from the ceiling. What seems like endless amounts of the earthbending agents jump down, surrounding a now standing Katara.

With shaky arms, I force myself up, blinking the spots from my eyes. Thirty Dai Li agents stand behind Taro, Azula, and Zuko, who face a determined Aang. I now stand to the left of the rows of Dai Li, airbending them by rows into the water, but they retaliate by moving the earth from underneath my feet until I fall to my knees again.

The Fire Nation siblings keep their focus on Aang, however, who looks around; first to Katara, who has surrounded herself with tendrils of water to ward away the Dai Li surrounding her - then to me, on my knees but still airbending as many agents as possible into the water behind them.

Aang mutters something I don't hear as I knock out the second to last row of Dai Li. I don't bother with the row behind Taro, Azula, and Zuko, as the others are coming out of the water already, drenched and dripping wet.

I turn away from the Dai Li, going to help Aang until I see what he's done. I stop myself short, slightly in front of Azula, but I don't notice my proximity to her - Aang is encased in a strange tent of the luminescent crystals, which suddenly begins to glow brighter from the inside. I stay there, mesmerized by Aang - no, this is not Aang; this is the Avatar - as the tent explodes, sending out a shockwave of energy. His body rises from the broken crystals, eyes and arrows glowing with the power of the Avatar State. It's beautiful in a powerful, hypnotic way.

I don't notice until it's too late. The white energy surrounding Aang turns black in an instant, my best friend's body convulsing in pain. Then he falls. A cry of half rage, half terror rips itself from my throat, but all I can do is watch in horror. The putrid smell of something burning fills the cavern and I choke on the electric stench the lightning left after. I don't know if I should attack Azula - who stands next to me, fingers extended in her signature lightning bending pose - or rush toward my now falling friend. But Aang, motionless, falls headfirst toward the ground and I subconsciously make the decision as I launch toward his body, tears leaking from my eyes.

I don't make it very far. A clawed hand grips my wrist forcefully after a few steps in Aang's direction. I scream, louder than before, as the lightning shocks every nerve in my system; I fall to my knees once more, unable to move save for the shaking of my feeble abdomen. Azula releases my arm, but I can't move anyway. Numbly, I see Katara riding a wave to catch Aang before he hits the ground, holding him amongst puddles of water.

A blast of fire - I don't see, but I can feel the heat on my back - comes from somewhere behind, and Katara's eyes catch mine in alarm. "Aya!" She cries my name, reaching out a hand but I shake my head.

"Take Aang. Get out of here. He's more important than me. I - I can handle it." My voice comes out weak, wobbly, cracked from the lightning's energy, and I wonder why I haven't fallen unconscious yet.

The old man from earlier jumps down from his perch on the wall and lands between me and Katara. "Listen to her; you've got to get out of here! I'll hold them off as long as I can."

With a last pained glance toward me, Katara nods. I watch as she twists the water around her, pushing her and the motionless Aang up and out of a crack in the cavern ceiling.

The old man stops firebending the moment he no longer sees Katara, and allows himself to be trapped in a cylinder of the glowing crystals.

The last thing I see is the glowing rocks on the ceiling as I finally let the effects of the lightning take over, falling face first onto the ground, the image of Aang falling playing over and over again long after I've lost consciousness.

* * *

I wake with the metallic taste of electricity in my mouth. My eyes snap open, and I expect the dim lighting and metal bars boxing me in somewhere in a Fire Nation prison.

Instead, I'm back in my room in the Southern Air Temple. It's a sunny day, and Aang sits in front of me, grinning as he pushes his Pai Sho tile forward. "I win, again!"

I stand and pivot so that I'm looking at the game board from the side. Even though I'm in a different place, another Aya sits across from Aang, looking terribly bored. I remember this - Aang wanted to get away from the pressure the monks were trying to push onto his shoulders, so he came and hid in my room for the entire day even though boys weren't allowed in the girls' rooms.

I push open the door and leave the scene, heading out toward the courtyard where I remember learning all my airbending techniques. Suddenly, the sky begins to darken and dozens of airships with the Fire Nation insignia cover the clouds. The sky turns red as an immense comet comes into view.

Then there's fire. So much fire. I'm screaming, but I can't hear it over the continuous crackle of flames and pops of embers. I can't see into the inferno, but in some places, the fire dissipates into nothing from a gust of airbending.

It goes on for what seems like forever, and when the fire finally dies out there's nothing except for piles of ashes that spread out in every direction. On and on and on, there are just piles of black dirt.

The ashes swirl into shapes of the monks and my friend and, worst of all, Aang.

"It's your fault." The ashes of my people whisper. "Where were you?"

"You could've helped me." Aang hisses, getting so close to my face that I'm inhaling cinders.

"I'm sorry," I choke through the sobs working their way up my throat. "I'm so, so, sorry."

"There is no excuse." They say in unison, and then they launch toward me.

Gasping for breath, I squeeze my eyes shut to get rid of the tears forming. The tears don't go away, and I lean forward, the sobs wheezing out of my lungs painfully. It hurts all over; I don't even know where to begin.

All my fault, it's all my fault that the Air Nomads are gone and Aang is dead and I'm who knows where. There is no hope now, there is no Avatar and there are no airbenders and I've failed worse than I thought I ever would.

"I'm sorry, Aang." I murmur, clutching at the silver bracelets hanging on my left wrist. They were a birthday present from him so many years ago. There's one for every element, and I've never questioned having the symbol of every nation on my wrist but suddenly the third one, imprinted with the Fire Nation insignia feels heavier than the rest.

I unhook it swiftly, ripping the silver from my arm and throw it as far away from me as possible; it hits the wall and then the ground with a loud clatter.

Feeling like I can breathe more easily now, I finally assess my surroundings. It's dim, but my eyes adjust to the light with time. The walls behind and to both my sides are smooth rock, but ahead of me, metal bars crisscross and box me in.

There's a barred window to my left, and stars twinkle down, almost winking at me. How long has it been since the Earth Kingdom cavern? Where are the others? I can tell I'm in the Fire Nation, but where? I've never been in the Fire Nation before - I'd never even left the Southern Air Temple until that one stormy night.

My hair is knotted and snarled, hanging in my eyes as I lost my ribbon while fighting Taro in the catacombs. From what I can tell, my clothes are only slightly singed while still wearable.

Though I only just woke up after sleeping for who knows how long, my eyes droop with tiredness - what else am I supposed to do while in here?

So I lie on the dirty prison floor and let my eyelids flutter into sleep, hoping the nightmares don't catch up with me again.

* * *

A few days pass in silence, which I don't really mind. I drill my airbending moves, watch the stars sparkling through the bars at night, meditate, drift in and out of nightmare-plagued sleep.

Then he comes. He beams at me, the morning sun lighting up the room through the small window. He sits across from me, talking conversationally as if I'm not sitting on a dirty prison cell floor and we're back in that Ba Sing Se restaurant, eating strange food and drinking tea. He's dressed in Fire Nation robes now, hair tied in a bun like the perfect prince.

I respond to nothing he says - not just because my throat hurts from Azula's lightning, but also because I haven't spoken since arriving a week ago (I counted the sunrises and sunsets).

Taro's eyebrows shoot up as he notices the sunrise light winking off of the silver bracelet thrown in the corner of my cell. Since that first night, I've left it there to gather dust and sat on the exact other side of the room as if the band emanated poison.

"What's this?" He asks, reaching in between the bars to pick up the silver. "Fire Nation?"

As usual, I don't reply; my fingers unconsciously twist the other three bracelets resting on my left hand.

"You're supposed to balance him, aren't you, Ayana? You can't do that without the Fire Nation. Without me."

I narrow my eyes, reaching through the metal to rip the bracelet from his grasp. I throw it against the wall in the same fashion as before, only this time I unintentionally use airbending to propel it harder so that when it clatters into the wall, it snaps in two.

Taro stands, that smirk not leaving his smug face. "Well, Ayana, it looks like you _can't_ handle yourself as well as you thought you could." He moves toward the door, puts his hand on the knob, but turns back around to face me one more time. "And next time you have a mental breakdown, keep it quiet. You're irritating the guards." Taro lets the door close behind him, but with a flick of my hand it slams shut, hopefully hitting him right where I want it to.

* * *

**This isn't quite as long as my past two chapters, cause I want to save Aya's imprisonment issues for the next chapter. Don't worry; she won't be there for long! **

**Sorry this took so long, I was away for three days without any way to write, so when I came home earlier today the words wouldn't go together right. If it sounds awkward (more so than usual) in some places, that's why!**

**I hope you liked this much as I liked writing it! This is the chapter I've wanted to write most, and I have like 20 notes on my phone of the random lines/thoughts/scenes that came to me when I was doing other things. **

**I'm going on another short break for a week before I start writing events from season 3. Partly because I'm going on vacation, partly so I can lay out my ideas about what exactly to do next. I have a general idea, but I need to look through all my notes and figure out how to weave Aya in without disturbing some of the canon events. Hopefully you'll like what I plan!**


	8. I Almost Knock The Fire Lord On His Butt

7: I Almost Knock The Fire Lord On His Butt

I am not weak. Those are the words I repeat under my breath countless times. Nightmares come, eyes snap open, sweat runs down my cheeks, breath comes in short bursts; I am not weak. Stare blankly back at Taro each time he sits in front of my cell bars, eat the food they push toward me, count the sunrises; I am not weak. Meditate in the dark of night, drill my airbending exercises, do _anything_; I am not weak.

Eventually, I let the sunrises pass without being numbered. I stop at 20, hopelessness halting my counting.

Aang can't be dead. That's another thing I remind myself relatively often. I would've felt something, right, with our supposed intertwined spirits?

Maybe if I went into the Spirit World, I would have a vision of Aang or Toph or someone - just so I can be sure they're all okay. Pushing away the chill of terror that flashes through my body, I cross my legs and press my fingers together, breathing steadily to stop my erratic heart. I was trapped before, so what if I can't get out this time?

Breathe in, breathe out. The change isn't instant, but I sense the shift from the dim twilight sun and musty air to afternoon light and a clear breeze.

It abruptly occurs to me that I'm not sure how to induce a vision. When I was trapped in the Spirit World, I didn't ask for images of Aang to appear - they just did.

I'm standing in a grassy field that seems to stretch on forever. All around my feet, though, it's muddy; pools of water gather around my body. It's completely different from the shallow river I spent the better part of 100 years in, and I'm unsure if that's good or bad. At least there, I knew where a vision would appear; now I'm lost and confused and horrified I won't be able to leave.

So I focus on Aang. His face, clothes, Appa, Momo, then Katara and Sokka and Toph. With my faced scrunched in concentration, I envision them individually in the front of my mind.

"I'm gonna throw them...a secret dance party!" Ignoring the strange choice of words, I know that voice. I scan the horizon, but I'm as alone as before.

"Go to your room!" Comes a second person, just as familiar as the first.

Down. I glance down, the only place I haven't looked; to see the puddle my feet have slightly sunken into. Stepping back out of the water, I stare hungrily at the images displayed in the water. Besides Aang and Sokka speaking in the beginning, there is no dialogue - just images of all four of my friends in Fire Nation clothes. Aang has a scruffy head of dark hair now, something I've never seen him with before. Sokka's hair has grown where the sides were once shaved, and Katara's long hair hangs down her back instead of in a tight braid like before. I can tell these images aren't from the present, but from the general past few weeks since the catacombs.

The vision fades, but it's enough to know they're alive and - for the moment - safe. I'm not surprised Aang is alive - I'm sure I would've felt _something _change had he died.

I don't know how to return to the physical world, so I cross my legs and sit in the puddle, not really minding the wetness that seeps through my clothes. With the same steady breath that got me here, I feel a more gentle pull than the one that forced me from the Spirit World not a month ago.

This time, the change from the Spirit to Physical World is definite. The musty smell I'd become accustomed to shoves it's disgusting scent into my nose, the new darkness forces my eyes to adjust before I can make anything out.

It seems I've come back at a good time. I start at the whine of the metal door creaking forward. Since Taro coming to visit me the fourth or fifth day here, I've had no visitors. I'm _pleasantly _surprised - note the sarcasm - to see Prince Zuko step into the shadowy room. Unlike his brother all those days ago, the older prince's dark hair hangs choppily in his scarred face. His expression is twisted into one of frustration, mouth turned up in a scowl.

"I think there's some information you can give me." He states.

"Skip right past the formalities, don't you? Where are your manners?" I ask dryly, leaning back against the wall behind me casually; in reality, my senses are on high alert. Zuko wants information, I can tell.

If it's possible, his face displays more aggravation than before. "The Avatar said your spirits are connected. Now, you're going to tell me something."

"Am I?"

"Where is he?" Zuko asks, but it sounds more like a stated demand than a question.

"He's dead. I'm here. How am I supposed to know?"

"Don't lie to me!"

"You saw him go down. Azula killed him. When he dies in the Avatar State, the Avatar cycle is done." I say dully, face expressionless and bored.

"I can see you're no help to me. Die in here for all I care!" He spits, standing as he says it.

"Oh, but you do care, Zuko," I tell him sincerely, making him falter in his steps. "You would care if I died in here."

"Why should I?"

"With Aang supposedly gone, I'm your last hope. I'm your one shot at finding him, assuming he's still alive."

With Zuko's back still facing me, I can't see his expression; but I do notice the tense of his shoulders before the door slams shut behind him.

* * *

I am not weak, but I sure am going insane. I don't even have to go into the Spirit World to be sure my friends are okay, because during the night when I lay awake with my eyes trained on the blank ceiling, it shimmers into a vision the same way it does in the Spirit World.

The first night, I see Sokka battling a middle aged man in some kind of courtyard, with a sword made of a strange greyish material. The second night, Aang jumps between odd rock formations to avoid someone bending explosions his way. Aang shoots a jet of air toward the explosion coming for him, and then rockets upward before the vision dissipates into nothing.

Then a few nights pass in blissful silence - except for my excruciatingly realistic nightmares - before I see Katara pulling water from thin air to fight an old lady with the creepiest smile I've ever seen.

After that, a full week of empty ceilings follows. No more visitors come, either, except for the guards to deliver my two meals a day - one in the morning, one in the evening. They make no eye contact with me, no sign that they're aware of a person sitting behind the bars they push bowls of food through.

I strongly suspect the visions are tied to the 'intertwined souls' of Aang and I, so when they stop for the next 7 days, I frequently need to calm my franticly beating heart. Often, I try to break out of the metal cage, but the effort is futile. What good does airbending do against an obviously strongly mounted set of bars?

I count seven sunsets, and on the night of the seventh, the next apparition comes. There's no action, no yelling or fighting. Just Aang sleeping peacefully on an oddly-shaped bed made of white fur.

Without thinking, his name escapes my lips in a soft whisper. "Hey, Aang," I know he can't hear me, but I'm still reassured with the idea of his tranquility.

"I see imprisonment doesn't do your mind any favors." Taro's voice shatters the vision, and I'm left staring wistfully at a best friend that isn't there.

Sitting up to face him, I run my fingers through my hair to get it out of my eyes - only so he can see the clearly irate expression taking over my features.

"I see being a prince doesn't do your attitude any favors," I shoot back weakly. I cringe inwardly at my awful comeback. Apparently, Taro does also.

"Obviously, your comebacks need a little work, too."

I ignore him, changing the subject. "You're here to ask where Aang is, right? Bad news, but he's dead. I'm sure you've heard already, considering it was your sister who did it. Congratulations to her." I state humorlessly.

"I'm not here to discuss the Avatar's death with you. I just wanted to remind you something I'm very sure you're aware of."

"What's that?" He's not here for information, he's here to _gloat_. I can feel my mouth quirking into a scowl, but not because I'm angry; more because I find it dryly hilarious that the _prince_ took time out of his day to come _brag_ to a prisoner. Hilarious.

Taro says it casually, barely hiding his smirk. "It's just that...well, with the Avatar gone, you're the last airbender. And with the way things are going, you'll be the very last one."

Anger doesn't come. Instead, that strange feeling of the earth falling from under my feet comes back. It's worse than when Aang told me in Ba Sing Se, because now I know there's no empty room to hide in, no best friend to comfort me in my tears. I am completely and utterly alone.

"Is that all?" I ask, my voice surprisingly empty.

Taro's eyebrows raise, and his words come out stuttered in surprise. "I, uh...yeah." He doesn't leave.

"Did you expect something different?" The words are hollow, vacant.

No reply comes, only the whisper of the prince's cloak against the stone floor. Then quiet.

* * *

With the way the Fire Nation's royal family had been coming to visit me, it should've been no surprise to see the Fire Lord swish his way into my chamber a little while after Taro.

"Wow," I comment sarcastically. "Visited by Prince Taro, Prince Zuko, and the Fire Lord all in the span of a few weeks. I'm flattered, truly." I'm already standing, so I bend my knees in a mock curtsy. I expect him to be alone - what threat do I pose in here? - but he's flanked by two guards to each of his sides.

"A peasant such as you should be honored to meet such important people." He spits.

Imprisonment apparently brings out my sarcasm, because I laugh emptily. "Two traitors and the worst Fire Nation leader in history. Honestly, I'm honored to meet you. Now that we've established how _delightful _it is to finally meet you, why are you really here?"

"The Solar Eclipse. Azula has told me what she can of it, but I need more information about the force arriving tomorrow."

"Excuse me?" I ask incredulously. "Even if I did know anything about the invasion, why in the world would I tell _you_?"

Ozai's triumphant grin makes my stomach flip nervously. "Don't worry, Ayana, I have everything figured out already. I just needed to...take care of something."

His face is dangerously close to the bars of my cell, and I raise my head so that our faces are mere inches apart. He makes me want to vomit.

"Take care of what?"

"You don't know when the Eclipse is. It could be today, tomorrow, the day after. It could be next month. You have no idea when - if - you'll be rescued by your precious Avatar."

"The Avatar is...dead," I manage to hiss in reply, but Ozai only nods. Swallowing the fear that arrives with the realization that I don't know when Aang is coming, I ask, "And you needed to come see me personally, why exactly?"

"Other than tying up a single loose end…I wanted to see the last airbender in person, of course. You're weaker than I'd imagined, especially for a _girl_."

A girl. I'd grown used to sexist comments, growing up in the Southern Air Temple. The South and North were used mainly for males, while the East and West were for the females. I was born a very sick child in the South. The monks let me stay until my sickness had passed the next year, but I was already attached to Gyatso and (later) Aang. I pleaded to stay. I did, and was one of the only females of the whole temple. Without my tattoos, I was perceived as weak simply because of my gender; once Aang was named the Avatar, however, the other boys my age began to fear me. They weren't afraid of _me_, but more so Aang. I still wish I'd had a chance to prove how mistaken and sexist they were.

Now, Ozai is just turning to leave when I inhale and puff up my cheeks. I blow out forcefully so that the gust of wind hits the Fire Lord in the back. A cry of surprise escapes his lips as he very nearly falls over - he catches the guard to his left to steady himself.

"Again, an honor to meet you, _sir_."

* * *

The realization of not knowing a thing about when the Day of Black Sun is eats away at me all night, which is spent in sleepless pacing. Today dawns just like any other, but my stomach feels different. It almost seems like I'm nervous, but the emotion isn't mine. The morning passes normally, but with the afternoon comes an emotion I haven't experienced in a long time: excitement.

Helplessness sets in when the alarms and screams begin. Seeing through the tiny window in the wall is difficult enough without the bars blocking the view of the street below. Luckily, my cell faces the rest of the city instead of a street off to the side. The most I can tell is there's something going on - something big.

The alarms begin blaring, blasts of fire emanating from different places around the city - not actually in the walls. And then, the strangest thing occurs. There's not a cloud above, but my room dims, as if the sun got...darker? I ponder this for a moment, searching for the sun in the sky.

My breath catches in my throat when I see the moon slowly covering the burning bright sun. It's unhurried, but the Solar Eclipse is definitely there. That's why Ozai came to ask yesterday - he wanted to make sure I had no perception of the time, so that when the Eclipse started, I'd only have a few minutes to make a plan or carry it out. Now, I can only helplessly hope Aang can defeat the Fire Lord.

I'm not sure what, but I kind of expected a big event during the eclipse. I don't know, an explosion? Shouts? All I'm met with is silence and the heavy feeling of anxiety.

The moon makes its sluggish uncovering of the sun, until the two are separate and plumes of fire once again shoot from differing points in the city.

The door to my cell room swings open wildly, revealing Zuko standing in the doorway with something I can't see clutched in his right hand. He rushes to the lock on my cell, shoving in the key - the thing clutched in his hand - into it. Shocked, I step out once the bars are out of the way.

Zuko smells like electricity, the skin on his fingertips singed slightly. He has a bag slung over his shoulder, hood pulled over his unevenly cut hair. I don't move, but stay in the shadowy corner of my cell.

"What are you doing? Let's go!" Zuko reaches for my wrist, but I wrench it from his reach.

"Go where? I mean, thanks for getting me out and all, but why would I go with you?"

"I'm not sure where, but we're going wherever your friends are. I...I need to set things right."

"Set things _right_?" I ask. "Like what, exactly? How could you possibly justify everything you've done?"

"I know I've made some mistakes - things you don't even know about - but I've realized I need to make my own destiny."

"Yeah, that's great and all, but what does that have to do with Aang?"

"Today I turned against my father," That explains the scent of lightning curling off his skin. "I want to teach the Avatar firebending. The Fire Nation is throwing off the world's balance. We have no greatness to spread in this world, only terror and aggression. If you don't want to come with me, that's fine - I won't force you. I just thought you might like to see your friends. "

"But...when you came to see me a few weeks ago, you seemed so bent on finding Aang. What changed?"

"I was confused then, but I know my way now."

There's no obvious way to detect his lie without Toph's heartbeat sensing, but he seems genuine enough and if he got me out, how bad can he be? I don't know much about the Eclipse, but maybe the lack of sun dimmed his bending abilities. If he is lying, I could take him in a fight and (probably) win.

My response doesn't come in the form of words, but in leading the way out of the room I spent the last month or so brooding in. Instinctually, my feet waver as I take one last glance into my cell. The now revealed sun glints off of the broken pieces of the silver bracelet I flung against the wall. I step back and pick up the two halves, tucking them into a pocket sewn into the inside of my sleeve.

Zuko's expression shows clear confusion. "What - ?"

"Don't," I tell him. He doesn't.

I follow Zuko down an unfamiliar hallway, which is curved slightly so I can tell the building is most likely rounded. He walks past an already opened door with an unconscious - at least, I hope he's only unconscious - guard slumped against the wall. Zuko throws the keys at his figure; they hit his still arm with a gentle _clang_.

"Thanks," He mutters, though the unresponsive guard is deaf at the moment.

Inside the room, I catch sight of the warped, destroyed bars of the chamber that once held someone extremely powerful. Zuko isn't halfway up the hall like I expect him to be, so when I go to move forward, I bump into him. I mutter an apology that seems to pass his ears by; his eyes are captivated with the broken metal.

Zuko blinks when I nudge his arm, and he strides forward once more, leaving me to tear my eyes from the distorted steel.

Silence falls between us as we slip, undetected, through the city; between buildings and houses and the guards (who, by the way, haven't been weakened at all since the revival of the sun, and now fight the remaining invasion force with renewed vigor).

Somewhere outside the city limits, Zuko pushes through tree branches until we stop at a clearing in the shallower part of the woods. Just inside the empty space sits a war balloon, red with the Fire Nation insignia printed harshly in the middle.

The balloon reminds me that air travel isn't easy for non-airbenders, and a pang shoots through me when I think back to my destroyed glider.

My glider may be ruined, but I refuse to be as well. Prison has not made me weak, I decide as Zuko toys with some parts of the war balloon. I am not fragile.

* * *

I have to admit, I expected this to be 100 times more awkward than it really is. Zuko and I don't speak and stay on opposite sides of the basket below the inflated balloon. Whenever my mind flashes back to the insignia above my head, my fingers twitch toward the pocket in my sleeve and brush the fragmented bracelet.

"There!" I shatter the stillness between my companion and me. Through the puffy clouds surrounding us, I can barely make out the brown and white tail of Appa. We follow. A long and, if I'm being totally honest, downright boring journey ensues. Eventually, the sky bison grows tired and the passengers are forced to trek along in the beating sun, defeated. There's a breeze up here, but whatever wind would reach me is overtaken by the heat of the balloon's flaming furnace.

The group below - which looks like a crowd of colorful bugs - stops suddenly at a cliff's drop-off. Nothing appears to be in the chasm, at least until I let out a particularly dramatic sigh.

"What's your deal?" Zuko's voice comes from off to my right, but I don't turn to him.

"I've seen pictures of this place before. I was supposed to be raised here, but I asked to stay at the Southern Temple with Aang. The Western would be where I went if I wasn't allowed to stay."

"Why would you have had to leave?" Zuko asks, dimming the fire in the furnace just enough so the balloon goes down on the opposite side of the chasm, toward large rock.

"The Southern and Northern are for males, and the Western and Eastern for females. It's sexist. I hate it."

"Why'd they separate you by gender?" The balloon hasn't lost enough altitude by the time we're on the other side, so I tell Zuko to put out the fire. Once he does, it goes down fast. I cushion our landing - behind the gigantic rock, to stay hidden - so the only noise we make is a small _thump_.

I finally respond when we're out of the basket. "Something about distractions and competitiveness. Apparently, the monks thought separation was better when we were learning all the correct philosophy."

Now, Zuko is staring across the abyss at my friends - plus a few others I'm unfamiliar with - with an unreadable look in his eyes. I elbow his side without speaking, and then lead him to a clump of trees I see diagonal from where we stand.

In another clearing similar to the one Zuko hid the war balloon in the Fire Nation, we sit until the warm afternoon melts into a cool dusk.

Zuko forms a fire from thin air and bathes our camp in flickering light.

"So, how are you gonna do it?" I finally ask what's been eating away at me for the past few minutes.

"Do what?"

"Convince them you're on their side. You did kind of betray me - in turn, the rest of them."

"Well, I figured...I have you."

"You _have_ me?" I ask incredulously. "I am not a tool for you to use when necessary!"

"I never said that! I -" Zuko begins to protest, but I cut him off.

"You need to prove it to them yourself. They shouldn't just accept you out of fear, or because _I _trust you. They need to think for themselves." I decide.

"Think for themselves..." He repeats thoughtfully.

I nod, rolling over in the dirt next to the fire. Long after I fall asleep, I can still feel the heat washing over my body; I wake in hot sweat with a start. Breaths come in short bursts, and it takes two minutes for my racing heart to calm. The heat got to my head even in my sleep - the nightmare seemed so real I could feel the flames licking my skin.

The embers from the Zuko's fire are dying out, but I can still make out his relaxed form on the other side of the sticks.

Fire isn't dangerous, I remind myself. I am not weak.

Even I can't tell if I'm lying.

* * *

**(I'm not really educated in the physics of how hot air balloons work, so just go with it lol).**

**Not quite sure I like the gigantic time jumps through this chapter, but there's only so much "and I sat, defeated, in the cell for what felt like a really long time" I can write. **

**Sorry for the late update, I've been away for the past two weeks without internet or my computer, so I haven't found the time to write until now – two days since I've been home, at about 5 in the morning. I've had this written for a little while, but I was too lazy to actually edit it. Oops? This is also probably little oddly worded, but it's hard to get back into the groove after a week and a half of not writing a word. **

**So idk if you can reply to guest reviews (I'm still figuring out how to do everything) but I'll just reply to a couple guests here. **

**1: I agree, Aya should not have traveled to the Northern Air Temple alone. She's not really worried about her safety because the war still hasn't sunk in for her yet and she's still in the mindset that everything's peaceful. I'll edit in her refusing to go with any guards because you're right it does seem weird that no one told her to be careful – I'll go back and fix that later. Thank you for pointing that out, now that you told me it does seem really stupid. **

**2: Taro isn't Aya's sibling, but he's Zuko/Azula's (Azula's twin, to be specific). Either you read wrong or I didn't specify that enough, I'll go back and check in a little bit. **


	9. I Regret Calling Sokka A Genius

8: I Regret Calling Sokka A Genius

Long after dawn has broken, I sit up and yawn to try and shake the tiredness from my body. My eyes flicker toward the pile of charred sticks next to me, then to where Zuko was sleeping last night. Trouble is, there's just dirt in place of the teenaged boy.

Now wide awake, I bolt upright and search the area.

"He didn't," I mutter darkly under my breath. "I'll kill him myself."

In the morning, before he went to try and talk to my friends, I was going to help him 'rehearse' what to say, because I'm sure he'd find some way - or ways - to screw it up.

Hissing curses through my teeth as I attempt to fix my tangled hair and untwist my disheveled shirt, I stop with my hand mid-comb through my hair at the sound of a voice.

I look past what was once the fire, past where he slept, and finally stop at a figure in front of a fallen log. Standing, I cautiously edge toward him.

"So, the thing is...I have a lot of firebending experience, and I'm considered to be pretty good at it. Well, you've seen me, you know...when I was attacking you...uh, yeah, I guess I should apologize for that. But anyway, I'm good now. I mean I thought I was good before, but now I realize I was bad. But, anyway…" Zuko's form slumps the more he talks, and I have to stifle a laugh. I've never seen a worse attempt at anything in my life. "I think it's time I joined your group and taught the Avatar firebending."

Silence follows, and I almost reply with a sarcastic comment, but then he says something else. "Well? What's your answer?!" The frog sitting on the fallen log leaps forward onto Zuko's head, croaking loudly.

Finally, I allow myself to laugh out loud, but stop at Zuko's disappointed face.

"I'm sorry, but that was...bad." I deadpan.

He sighs. "Yeah, I know,"

"You make some good points; you just need to execute them better. And probably don't throw your attacking of them and other various bad things in. They'll be more convinced if you're sure of yourself - but don't force it. Bottom line, Aang needs a firebending teacher. That's what's important. You just gotta be strong and confident."

"Your friends are complicated."

"Tell me about it,"

Later, when the sun beams down from directly above, I follow Zuko to the main part of the temple so I can hear but not be seen. He told me I shouldn't come with him, but this attempt would be too good to miss. I make sure to hide in a different hanging structure than they so Toph can't sense my presence.

"Hello, Zuko here," Is the first thing I hear. My hand finds its way to my forehead and I exhale slowly. "I heard you guys flying around down there, so I figured I'd just wait here."

A roar from Appa comes a moment later, shaking the ground beneath my feet.

"I know you must be surprised to see me here -"

Sokka interrupts, "Not really, considering you've followed us all over the world."

"Right, well, uh...what I wanted to tell you about, is that I've changed. And I'm good now, and I think I should join you. Oh, and I can teach firebending...to you." He tells - I assume - Aang.

"C'mon," I say under my breath. "Strong and confident. What about this seems strong and confident to him?"

Toph's voice comes next. "You wanna what now?"

Then Katara's. "You can't possibly think that any of us would trust you. I mean, how stupid do you think we are?"

"Yeah! All you've ever done is try to hunt us down and capture Aang." Sokka adds.

"I've done some good things!" Zuko protests. "I could've stolen your bison in Ba Sing Se, but I set him free. That's something! And Aya -" I suck in my breath anxiously, but he stops himself midsentence.

It doesn't go unnoticed by Aang. "Aya what?" Zuko must've shaken his head, because Aang doesn't press it.

"Appa does seem to like him," Toph comments thoughtfully.

"He probably just covered himself in honey before he came. I'm not buying it." Sokka says.

"I can understand why you wouldn't trust me. And I know I've made some mistakes in the past -"

"Like when you attacked our village!" exclaims Sokka.

"Or stole my mother's necklace and used it to track us down!" Katara adds.

"Look, I admit I've done some awful things. I was wrong to try to capture you, and I should've never sent that Fire Nation assassin after you."

He sent an assassin after them?

Apparently, Sokka and I are on the same page. "Wait, you sent Combustion Man after us?"

"Well, that's not his name, but -"

"Oh, _sorry_, I didn't mean to insult your friend." Sokka says sarcastically.

"He's not my friend!" Zuko cries.

"That guy locked me and Katara in jail and tried to blow us all up!" Toph shouts.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Zuko asks Aang. "You once said you thought we could be friends. You know I have good in me."

Aang pauses, then, "There's no way we can trust you after everything you've done. We'll never let you join us."

That's enough for me, I decide. I summon enough air to propel myself up, then hop from hanging structure to hanging structure until I reach the end and come to the woods Zuko and I are hiding in. Hopefully, he won't suspect I followed him there if I'm already doing something else here.

So I sit with my legs crossed in a position of meditation, facing the rest of the woods that Zuko will come out of when he returns. When he does, it's later than I realized; the sun arcs toward the west slowly but steadily.

Zuko comes back with multiple cries of frustration. "I can't believe how stupid I am!"

"Well, generally, you are pretty stupid. But what did you do this time?"

"Don't act like you don't know. I saw you following me there. You saw how awful I was."

"Hey, don't worry," I attempt to soothe his frayed nerves. "I'll go talk to them now, try and tell them you 'have good in you.'" I repeat the words he said to Aang.

Zuko nods as I stand, smiling slightly at him. "I'll fix this," I promise him.

* * *

When I arrive, landing neatly on the edge of the structure, the others are still in the same general places as before, discussing something lowly but angrily. Toph stops Sokka midsentence, saying, "Hold on. There's someone here to see us."

"Zuko came back?" Katara asks, stunned for a second until fury takes over.

"No," Toph replies calmly. "It's actually an old friend of ours. I think you'll be very glad to see her."

I step through the columns they stand amongst, grinning. "Long time no see," I state, laughing at the shock clear on their faces.

Aang is the first to react, pulling me into a bone-crushing hug. For a twelve-year-old, he sure can squeeze. Katara joins next, and then Sokka, who pulls in a reluctant Toph.

"Aww, a Team Avatar group hug. How cute," Sokka mumbles sarcastically, but I know he doesn't really mean it.

"Where did they take you? How did you escape? Are you okay?" Aang bombards me with questions, and he suddenly bears a striking resemblance to a worried Monk Gyatso.

"Fire Nation prison, I'm fine, and who rescued me...well, that's what I came here to talk to you about."

As much as I want to sit with the four of them and just generally catch up, forget about the threat of the Fire Lord hanging over our heads, I can't.

"Well, who was it?" Sokka demands, shaking his boomerang at me.

"Don't point that thing at me," I tell him, pushing it away from my face. "It was Zuko." I ignore the stuttered cries of protest, shock, and rage. "On the day of the invasion, I was stuck in my prison cell when he came and got me out. He told me he could teach Aang firebending, and I went with him," I spare them the minor details.

"And you _trusted_ him?" Katara hisses, appalled.

"Yes, I did. Why else would he have freed me?"

"Probably so he could capture you himself,"

"Katara, that doesn't make any sense. I was already imprisoned _in_ the Fire Nation. What could he possibly have gained from re-capturing me? You're blinded by past views. He freed me, he freed Appa, he's done some good things. Hear me out."

"Yeah, but you weren't there when that Fire Nation assassin tied to blow us up, like, three times!"

"Or when he destroyed parts of Kyoshi Island,"

"Or teamed up with pirates to try and kill us,"

"Or attacked our village in the Southern Water Tribe!"

"Okay, I get it! I wasn't there multiple times Zuko did something bad. But I was there when he did something good - really good."

"Maybe he only freed you so he could get on our side." Sokka tries.

"Freeing me would be a high level of treason. I don't think he'd go that far just to capture Aang, who's going to come right to the Fire Lord anyway when he confronts him before the comet." I retort.

"Whatever! What about all that other stuff - like setting Appa free? What a liar!" Katara says.

"Actually," Toph speaks for the first time since I arrived. "He wasn't lying."

"Oh, hooray! In a lifetime of cruelty, at least he didn't add animal cruelty to the list." Sokka cries sarcastically.

"I'm just saying that considering his messed up family, he could've turned out a lot worse."

"You're right, Toph," Katara says. "Why don't we find him and give him a medal: the 'not as big of a jerk as you could've been' award."

"All I know is that while he was talking to us, he was sincere. Maybe you're just letting hurt feelings keep you from thinking clearly."

"Why would either of you even _try_ to defend him?!" Katara nearly shouts.

"I also trust him," I interject. "I've spent the past couple days with him, and he's not all bad. Just frustrated, because he can't figure out how to make you trust him the way I do."

"And, Katara, you're all ignoring one crucial fact. Aang needs a firebending teacher. We can't think of a single person to do the job. Now one shows up on a silver platter, and you won't even think about it?"

"I'm not having Zuko as my teacher."

Toph looks surprised; I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from telling Aang how stupid he is.

"You're darn right," Sokka crosses his arms.

Toph groans in frustration, turning away from us. "I'm beginning to wonder who's really the blind one around here,"

I follow her out of the back chamber, but stop when she shifts the ground from under me, the momentum causing me to fall backward. She disappears from view soon after.

* * *

I spend the night peacefully sleeping in between Aang and Sokka, but stir to explosions rocking the temple. Alarmed, I stand up right away and assess the situation: Toph has her feet in the fountain, Aang and Sokka are going to pick her up. I don't have time to wonder what's wrong. Another blast comes from somewhere above us.

"Stop!" Zuko's shouts. "I don't want you hunting the Avatar anymore!" He tells the man standing next to him, a strangely postured man with a third eye - tattoo, possibly? - in the middle of his forehead.

Zuko shouts something else at him, but my ears are ringing from the boom too much to hear what he's saying. Whatever it is, the man shoves him out of the way and fires another blast toward us. Aang pulls me by the arm behind a ledge where we're out of the man's view.

"That's Combustion Man," Aang tells me. "The Fire Nation Assassin Zuko sent after us."

I nod, craning my neck around the corner to see Combustion Man (which I highly doubt is his real name, but would he really introduce himself before trying to kill them?), but quickly retract when another explosion sends little pieces of rock into my eyes. Then I look again, seeing Zuko surrounding himself in a shield of fire to stop the next burst coming straight for him. Smoke. Lots of smoke follows.

It clears, and I wait to see Zuko's form on the ground somewhere, but it is nowhere to be found.

Sokka and Katara push past me so they can help fight, and I'm left behind the ledge feeling helpless. I shouldn't be, I decide, and rush out to stand amongst my friends. Waves of water and gusts of wind pass me as I wait for an opportunity to strike. And when I can, I give it my all but it's as if the man is made of cement - unbreakable.

Katara flings some ice toward him, and then the four of us take cover behind the ledge again.

"I can't get a good enough angle on him from down here!" Katara cries after a few futile attempts at Combustion Man.

"I think I know how to get an angle on him," Sokka says, eyes brightening with an idea. He pushes past Katara so that he's closest to the edge and reaches for his boomerang resting in its pouch on his back. Sokka waits for another explosion to boom through the entire temple, then measures the trajectory of where the blast hit the temple floor.

"Genius," I murmur (what I think is) not loud enough for anyone to hear, but Sokka apparently did because his mouth quirks into a smirk just before he throws the boomerang at an angle. It arcs around the corner, disappearing from view.

Sokka leans out from behind the pillar, watching apprehensively. Then his face breaks out into a sudden smile. "Yeah, boomerang!"

I watch in horror as Combustion Man stands back up, hand pressed to his forehead in pain.

"Aw, boomerang..."

Combustion Man tilts his head back as if to fire another blast; my heart rate accelerates with mounting panic.

"Go!" I tell the others, grabbing the wrists of the people nearest to me - Toph and Aang - and trying to pull them back where we hid before.

But it doesn't matter. Combustion Man's head emits sparks. That's the last thing I see before the entire cliffside he stands on explodes in a shower of wood and dust and smoke and the entire structure crumbles, falling into the deep pit below.

I stare in shock, openmouthed, at the dust cloud in front of me. Around me, the others are in states of various shock, panic, and happiness.

"Aya!" Sokka shouts my name even though he's right next to me, and grabs my shoulder, twisting me around to face him.

"What?"

"I can't believe you called me a genius!"

* * *

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but...thanks, Zuko," Aang says to the scarred prince, almost staring in awe at him.

"Hey, what about me?" Sokka interrupts. "I did the boomerang thing. Aya even called me a genius!"

"Shut up, you weren't supposed to hear that." I inform him, staring straight ahead to stop the smile from growing on my face.

"Listen, I know I didn't explain myself very well yesterday. I've been through a lot in the past few years, and it's been hard. But I'm realizing that I had to go through all those things to learn the truth. I thought I had lost my honor, and that somehow my father could return it to me. But I know now that no one can give you your honor. It's something you earn for yourself, by choosing to do what's right. All I want now is to play my part in ending this war. And I know my destiny is to help you restore balance to the world." Zuko says, eyes never leaving Aang's face. "I'm sorry for what I did to you. It was an accident. Fire can be dangerous and wild. So as a firebender, I need to be more careful and controlled so I don't hurt people unintentionally." He bows to Toph.

For a second, I can feel the question of what exactly he did to her - I slept through her coming back this morning - bubbling at my lips. I decide now isn't the time, instead crossing my arms over my chest and biting the inside of my cheek.

"I think you are supposed to be my firebending teacher. When I first tried to firebend, I burned Katara. After that, I never wanted to firebend again. But now I know you understand how easy it is to hurt the people you love." Aang bows much like Zuko did to Toph. "I'd like you to teach me."

"Thank you. I'm so happy you've -" Zuko begins with a smile, but Aang interjects which is very unlike him. He's always been patient and lets people finish speaking before he replies.

"Not so fast. I still have to ask my friends if it's okay with them. Toph, you're the one he burned. What do you think?"

Toph is silent for a moment. "Go ahead and let him. It'll give me plenty of time to get back at him for burning my feet."

"Sokka?"

He closes his eyes, sighing and shrugging. "Hey, all I want is to defeat the Fire Lord. If you think this is the way to do it, then go for it."

Aang nods. "Katara?"

The waterbender, who's been silently brooding this entire exchange, glances at Zuko with a frown. "I'll go along with whatever you think is right." Aang replies with a grin, then turns to me.

"Do I really have to ask you, Aya?"

"I dunno," I reply easily. "You expect me to say yes, but what if I say no? Gotta keep you on your toes." I wait a painful second, almost snickering at the expression of disbelief on Zuko's face. "Yes."

"I won't let you down, I promise!" Zuko exclaims.

"For your sake, I sure hope not." I exhale, following Katara out of the pillared area. She walks with hands twisted into fists, jaw clenched, shoulders tense. I reach out to put a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugs off the contact.

"Don't touch me," She hisses and stops walking, spinning around to face me. Katara has a gentle appearance, but when she's angry it becomes positively terrifying.

"What?" I breathe in surprise.

"I don't understand how you could possibly trust him!"

Appalled, I bring my usually slouched shoulders up, matching her height. "He saved all of our lives; mine twice!"

"But does that outnumber all the other times he _didn't_ save our lives? You know what he's done. You of all people shouldn't be so quick to trust someone so blatantly Fire Nation."

_Me of all people_? What does that even mean? I'm about to ask her, but the words stick in my throat when she turns away from me, leaving me in the setting sun with the questions still hanging off my lips.

* * *

I played around with the timelines of this episode; I know Zuko went to talk to them the first day they arrived at the Western Temple, but I wanted to spread it out a little more.

Also, I'm so sorry about the lateness of this chapter (well on some levels it isn't really late but since when I first began this, I updated every other day, a week seems like a long time). Now that I have school beginning next week, chapters will most likely come with more spacing in between. It's hard to find as much time as I did during summer when I had hours to waste.

Thank you for reading :)


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